Ireland v New Zealand: Paul Stirling out with calf injury, Andrew Balbirnie called for first-class return

This will be Ireland’s 13th Test in this format since becoming a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in June 2017.

With their players only having one warm-up game, Balbirnie admitted his side are not really ready when it comes to their preparations “compared to other Test nations”.

He added: “You can’t really beat around the bush there.

“We’ve got guys making their first-class debuts this week who are going to play Test matches next week. That doesn’t happen around the world.

“There are isolated matches where you pick what you see and you’re almost in form. We have good cricketers who we know will go out and try to put their best foot forward.”

Ireland could get more Test fixtures if they are added to the ICC’s World Test Championship as part of a much-discussed overhaul of the long format structure by the world governing body.

Balbirnie would welcome Ireland’s inclusion but said they needed to re-establish a first-class ecosystem – an inter-provincial tournament to support the format was last played in 2019.

“It will naturally be very exciting for the group, with Test matches guaranteed, something to work on,” the Irish captain explained.

“And hopefully a first-class framework is put in place for these guys to try because, ultimately, if we’re at the WTC, we’ve got to make sure our guys are ready to play the Test matches on offer.”