1 week Ago
New Zealand's head coach for the seventh year in running, Gary Stead, has decided to step down from the role in white-ball cricket after incessant travel and tours that come with international cricket after more than half a decade with the Black Caps. Under Stead, New Zealand had their golden period of white-ball cricket qualifying for the finals of all three events - the World Cup in 2019, the T20 World Cup in 2021 and recently the Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the UAE. Stead has asked for time to mull his role in red-ball cricket and mentioned that he still has a few years of coaching left in him but not as an all-format head coach.
The news comes after former South Africa white-ball coach Rob Walter's name was linked to the Black Caps after relinquishing the role with the Proteas a few days ago. "I’m looking forward to getting away from touring life for a while and having a think about my future,” said Stead in an NZC release. “My focus has been on finishing the season strongly with a lesser experienced team.
The past six to seven months has been particularly busy with relatively non-stop cricket action since September. "I now want to evaluate my options but still feel I have coaching left in me, albeit not as Head Coach across all formats. The next month will give me the opportunity to discuss the situation more with my wife, family and others.
“I’ll be in a better position to know whether I want to reapply for the Test coaching position after this time of reflection," Stead added. NZC's Chief High-Performance Officer Bryan Stronach said that Stead deserves to be given time to think over his future while saying that there isn't a strong preference for either a split role or continuing it as a one-man job. “Gary’s results have been very impressive over a long period and we’re very comfortable giving him some time to collect his thoughts and mull things over,” said Stronach.
Stead, who took up the role after Mike Hesson's departure in 2018, won the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) mace in 2021 and recently was in charge of the side that beat India in their own backyard 3-0 where the hosts hadn't lost a Test assignment for 12 years..
