Stephen Doheny and Lorcan Tucker enhanced their personal reputations in Belfast on Friday but were unable to prevent Ireland slumping to an innings and 79 runs defeat in their one-off Test against New Zealand.

Both batters scored half-centuries but it was Doheny’s 57 in only his second Test that was the more significant as he staked a claim to become a regular opener, have deputised at Stormont for the injured Paul Stirling.

The Merrion man must surely have done enough to earn a run in the role and looks to have found the confidence and maturity in his game in the past couple of years to hold onto the position.

By contrast, Tucker’s busy 50 from 70 balls was what we have come to expect from the Pembroke wicketkeeper as he raised his bat for a fourth Test half-century — he also has a top score of 108.

Mark Adair chipped in with an unbeaten 44 to go with his 40 in the first innings but was left stranded when last man Reuben Wilson edged slip and Ireland were all out for 232 half an hour before tea.

Ireland skipper Andy Balbirnie acknowledged the contributions of Tucker, Andy McBrine and Adair in the engine room.

“If our top order started getting runs, we’ll get some big scores because our middle order has been really consistent. They’ve shown you can cash in,” he said.

If the top order are to start getting runs they need to cope better with short-pitched fast bowling. 

Doheny and Harry Tector both fended off deliveries into the slips — as did nightwatchman Tom Mayes — while Curtis Campher suffered a broken hand from another snorter, and retired hurt.

“Facing high-quality new ball bowling is something we’re not used to much. But we’ll keep trying and hopefully down the line, we will get our rewards,” Balbirnie said.

The Ireland skipper again bemoaned the lack of a proper first-class domestic program with his side having only the four-day Emerald Challenge as preparation for their one Test of the summer.

“I was really proud of our new caps because it’s tough for those guys to rock up and put in a good performance with so little first-class experience behind them,” Balbirnie said.

“I’ve always been a big advocate for Test cricket but we also need to have a setup under it, where we are not just finding out about players on the biggest stage.

“New Zealand are a very good side, and we didn’t expect them to be anything but that. 

“We had a bit of a sniff on the first morning, but once they got through that period we were always playing catch-up. It’s just a shame we couldn’t capitalise on those four early wickets. 

“We can definitely learn a lot from these past few days, though, and hopefully our Test cricket can keep moving forward.”