New Zealand Cricket says it understands fans’ frustrations over a lack of test matches, having revealed the summer schedule for both the Black Caps and White Ferns.
Despite a packed summer, with men’s tours from the West Indies, England and Australia, and a maiden White Ferns series against Zimbabwe beforea shared effort against South Africa, white-ball cricket again dominates the Kiwi summer calendar.
All up, a combined 59 internationals will be played by New Zealand’s men’s and women’s sides respectively. However, only three of those will be test matches.
What’s more, those tests are all against the West Indies, currently ranked eighth of the 12 nations that play the longest format.
New Zealand’s last home summer also featured just three tests, all against England before Christmas.
To their credit, that three-test series has come at New Zealand Cricket’s (NZC) behest, after the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) future tours programme – which outlines the game’s international schedule until March 2027 – initially afforded just two.
And in spite of a rise in the number of women’s test cricket elsewhere, the White Ferns haven’t taken part in the longest format since 2004.
But at a time when test cricket appears as strong as it has been in recent memory, New Zealand’s dearth of fixtures is not unique.
South Africa – who just defeated Australia to claim the third iteration of the World Test Championship – don’t play a home test match until October 2026.
And while the gap is seemingly closing between the “big three” of India, Australia and England on the field, test cricket is moving quickly towards a case of haves versus have-nots.
Rachin Ravindra in action in the whites against England at the Basin Reserve. Photo / Photosport
At its simplest, test cricket is not cheap to host and is for the most part funded by the deluge of white-ball matches, both internationally and domestically.
The Herald understands the cost of staging a test match can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars per day. In conjunction with New Zealand’s time zone, that money isn’t always recouped – unless tests are played against the bigger nations.
If it’s any consolation, the Black Caps’ test calendar in 2026 does make for good reading, with away series against England, Ireland and Australia.
That also comes amid the changing landscape of the game, where franchise Twenty20 leagues are seeing players in some countries forced to choose between club and country.
And while the lack of home test cricket isn’t NZC’s intention when putting schedules together, there does need to be recognition of the fact that it’s largely out of the national body’s control.
“I think if you were to ask all home boards, finding the balance of the ideal amount of cricket you want is hard to achieve,” chief venues and events officer Graham Parks told the Herald.
“It’s a challenging environment to schedule bilateral cricket, nuanced with franchise cricket. It’s part of the new norm.
“It’s [about] working collectively with the ICC and the home boards to find tours that work. It’s the same for most home boards at the moment.”
That’s evident from the summer schedule. While hosting the West Indies in three tests should be celebrated, it does feel like a “what could have been?”, given the fact Australia, England and the newly minted world champion Proteas also visit.
Australia’s and England’s tours, though, are asterisked slightly by the fact both will be preparing for their own five-test Ashes series beginning at the end of November, with no certainty either will send a full-strength squad.
Kane Williamson celebrates his 33rd test century, scored against England at Hamilton. Photo / Photosport
And while NZC welcomes top-quality opposition for the white-ball legs of the summer, the desire for red-ball cricket is by no means absent.
“From an NZC perspective, as it relates to scheduling, and we’re mindful that the World Test Championship is going into its fourth edition, there’s obviously refinement that is preferred,” Parks continued.
“Ideally, we’d like to see in our home summer two tours by inbound teams with a balance of red- and white-ball.
“That’s something that there are discussions [about]. That’s evident from the summer schedule. While hosting the West Indies in three tests should be celebrated, it does feel like a “what could have been?” given the fact Australia, England and the newly minted world champion Proteas also visit. that are ongoing with the ICC and are relevant across the game - that are ongoing.
“We’d support the opportunity to play quality test cricket ... and infuse that with white-ball.”
As was also the case with the start of 2025, the new summer schedule also sees a gap from the end of December to late February, with no internationals scheduled until the White Ferns host Zimbabwe.
In that time, the Black Caps will travel to the subcontinent for a T20 World Cup and a pre-tournament tour of India.
That layout mirrors what happened this year, when the Black Caps didn’t play at home for all of February and most of March, on their way to the final of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
If anything, the influx of white-ball cricket will at the very least give the Black Caps the chance to finalise their plans for the T20 World Cup and to hopefully end New Zealand’s 25-year wait for a short-form trophy.
But while fans will still be able to get their fix of cricket through New Zealand’s domestic schedule, Parks does sympathise with the lack of internationals diluting the quality of entertainment available for our premier summer code.
“For our fans, I have no doubt that watching cricket in the height of our summer with an ICC tournament on [is frustrating], those things are out of the control of the home boards.
“I can appreciate, from the fans, you would like constant cricket. Throughout that summer window of January and February, we have the Super Smash competition.
“But when you look at it holistically, across the broader context of cricket, there is plenty there to watch.”
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.
