Nathan Smith: 'It's nice to be in the same time zone, at least'

Allrounder on being one half of New Zealand cricket's power couple and the "coolest moment" of his career to date

Matt Roller

Published: Jun 15, 2026, 7:52 PM (3 hrs ago)

He is fresh from a six-wicket haul that earned him a spot on the Lord's honours board, and she is captaining the defending champions at a T20 World Cup. Nathan Smith and Melie Kerr are New Zealand's cricketing power couple, who are spending this month balancing their own busy schedules with supporting one another through high-pressure tours.

After training at The Oval on Saturday, Smith hurried down to Southampton in time to watch New Zealand's close defeat to West Indies; Kerr made it to the first Test at Lord's and will be at the first day of the second Test on Wednesday, travelling up to London after captaining her team against Sri Lanka on Tuesday afternoon.

"You're just taking it in your stride at the moment," Smith says. "Once you're in it, you're not trying to make it something bigger than it is: she's been to a handful of World Cups, and I've played a bit of international cricket now. You're just bringing it back to a day-by-day, game-by-game sort of thing. But yeah, it is a massive time in our lives."

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Smith and Kerr have been dating for four-and-a-half years, having met while playing for Wellington in 2021-22. Their profiles have grown significantly since: Kerr was already an established international but has become New Zealand's captain and one of the world's leading allrounders, while all of Smith's 25 cross-format caps have come in the last two years.

Their schedules present challenges, and they have grown used to a nomadic lifestyle. "Normally, one of us is at home and one of us is away," Smith says. "Most of the time, if I leave, she'll be at the Big Bash or something, so I'll go try to spend some time with her there. I've spent a couple of Hundred seasons with her over the last couple of years.

"That's the other thing: your time together is never normally at home. Other players go home and have their families there, and their time off is at home. For us, it's a little bit different. It's like time off just wherever: hotel rooms, normally. But it's all good… It's nice to be in the same time zone, at least."

There are plenty of shared experiences, both good and bad. "For my first year to 18 months of international cricket, I was on the fringe, in and out," Smith says. "Every training session felt like a game to me… It took a lot out of me mentally, and I probably wasn't the best partner to be around. But the understanding is there: she definitely understands how hard it can be."

Kerr often makes international cricket look easy, but was briefly dropped by Mumbai Indians at the WPL this year. "I was like, 'Welcome to the club, you've never been dropped in your life and now you know it doesn't feel good,'" Smith says, laughing. "I definitely think it helps when you have tough days… But she obviously has a lot of good days, and I'm normally cheering her on."

Smith has had his own good days of late: he comes into the second Test at The Oval after back-to-back six-wicket hauls, against Ireland in Belfast and then at Lord's 10 days ago. Many of his friends who have moved to the UK on two-year working holiday visas were in the stands with Kerr, and he describes walking off with the ball in hand as "the coolest moment in my career" to date.

"I was just trying not to black out, really," Smith says. He was in Leicester for a warm-up match with Kerr when his name was inscribed on the honours board in the away dressing room but says it will be "sick" to see it in-person the next time he plays at Lord's.

"I said I really wanted to enjoy the week, whatever happened. It might be the last Test I play at Lord's, so I really wanted just to soak it in: the walk through the members and just the general hum and atmosphere playing there."

Smith traces his recent form back to a side strain he sustained during New Zealand's home series against West Indies in December, which ruled him out for two months and forced him to have "a really good mental refresh" while injured.

"I came back and played domestic cricket, scored some runs, and took consistent wickets. I was just fresh and excited to be back playing again, and then that's just rolled into our away stuff in Bangladesh and into here. Playing consistently helps as well… It has just reaffirmed that my game's in good order and I can go out and trust my skills."

The second Test this week will be a "home" game for Smith, who spent three months as a Surrey player last summer and has been welcomed back by club staff this week. "It feels good to be back," he says. "This is my favourite ground to play at in England. I played the Blast last year with packed-out crowds, but the four-day stuff gets awesome crowds as well.

"The standards were so high. Everyone worked so hard. It actually felt like an international set-up in the way that they prepare; there's obviously a lot of guys with international experience, but that was driven from everyone around as well. You could just feel that sense of intensity. No wonder they are a team that contends for the County Championship every year."

Smith says that the first Test felt "like a flip of a coin" and that New Zealand would try to "shrug off" their 115-run defeat given the extreme conditions on a seam-friendly, up-and-down pitch at Lord's. Kane Williamson's abrupt retirement is a blow but they will be up against a new-look England team still coming to terms with the absence of their captain.

It will require two turnarounds, but Smith's dream scenario is still just about plausible: win the next two Tests to take the series 2-1, then stay in London for a week to watch his partner captain New Zealand to a second T20 World Cup in a row.

Matt Roller is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98

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