A couple of weeks after playing his first game for the Black Caps in an ODI in Sri Lanka, Smith will make his test debut against England at Hagley Oval.
The Waitaki Boys’ High School old boy will have friends and family from Oamaru in the Christchurch crowd as he marks the greatest moment of his cricket career.
Black Caps captain Tom Latham said yesterday Smith would balance out the pace attack of Matt Henry, Tim Southee and Will O’Rourke.
"He moves the ball both ways in the air and hits the wicket reasonably hard, and he can bat a little bit as a bowling all-rounder which certainly helps the balance of our side," Latham said.
"He’s deserved his opportunity over a period of time and we’re looking forward to getting in behind him."
Earlier, Smith said he was chomping at the bit to make his test debut.
"It would be a really special moment for me and the family," Smith said.
"And many people from North Otago and Oamaru, to be fair."
Smith, 26, has been in excellent first-class form for Wellington in recent times, and also had a stint with Worcestershire in county cricket.
He has 144 first-class wickets at 25.85, and 1919 runs at 27.02, numbers that led to him getting his first New Zealand contract earlier this year, indicating his Black Caps debut was imminent.
“The red-ball form has been the one where I've had the most success over the last few years and I've obviously had a nice stint away in England as well and the form continued,” Smith said.
There is no room in the XI for this test for Will Young, the player of the series in New Zealand's historic sweep of India.
Young has been dropped following the return of Kane Williamson, who missed the India tour due to injury.
"It's nothing on what Youngy has done, because he has been fantastic over the last period of time, but having someone like Kane obviously boosts your side with the calibre of player that he is," Latham said.
Latham said coach Gary Stead passed on the news to Young that he had missed out "but I certainly followed up with Youngy. He's a great team man.
"It was a tough decision to make but I guess when you are in the position of having to make tough calls like that, it means your team is in a good spot. Gutted for Youngy but excited with Kane coming back."
The changing of the guard in the Black Caps bowling attack will be complete after the test series against England.
Earlier this month, stalwart Tim Southee announced this test series would be his last, his international retirement following those of fellow pacemen Trent Boult and Neil Wagner in recent years.
The man set to take over the leadership of the new-look pace group, which also has Will O’Rourke on the rise, is Matt Henry.
The 32-year-old Cantabrian will earn his 28th test cap today but has 13 years of first-class experience.
Henry looked upon the number of changes to the New Zealand pace attack as a positive thing.
"It’s a great place for New Zealand cricket to be in," he said.
"To see guys like Will O’Rourke and Ben Sears getting opportunities, not just making debuts, but having a really strong impact on international cricket is probably more exciting."
Henry made his test debut playing alongside Southee at Lord’s in 2015 and said this final series with him would be special.
"He does a lot of the hard yards and bowling the tough overs and it’s one of those things that you always doff your cap for.
"To have a young bunch of players to be able to play with Tim over the last couple of years and learn what they can ... he’s been a great person to have in the group."
Hagley Oval has been a good hunting ground for Henry. He took seven for 23 in one innings against South Africa in 2022 and seven for 67 against Australia there earlier this year.
Black Caps v England
Test series
First test: Hagley Oval, starts today
Second test: Basin Reserve, starts December 6
Third test: Seddon Park, starts December 14
Last five tests
Feb 2023, Wellington: Black Caps won by one run
Feb 2023, Mount Maunganui: England won by 267 runs
June 2022, Leeds: England won by seven wickets
June 2022, Nottingham: England won by five wickets
June 2022, Lord’s: England won by five wickets
Likely teams
Black Caps: Tom Latham (captain), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Will O’Rourke.
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes (captain), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir. — APL/RNZ
