Give Stead a break – White

New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White has made an impassioned defence of the break taken by Black Caps coach Gary Stead.

White told media yesterday at Seddon Park in Hamilton – venue of the opening game in the threematch ODI series against India – that Stead’s one-week break for the series was essential.

‘‘Player and support staff workload is a big issue in international cricket,’’ White said.

‘‘We lost our last coach, Mike Hesson, to workload issues, so we want to make the role sustainable going forward. That is why Gary is having a week off this week.

‘‘Over the last 16 months, Gary Stead has had something like 350 days away from home. We’ve got to manage that, otherwise it just won’t be sustainable.’’

Rough calculations indicate Stead has spent 324 of his 468 days in charge of the national side on tour – overseas and in New Zealand – with the team.

White said he could ‘‘understand the passion’’ of the reaction to news yesterday of what was a pre-planned break after the New Zealand side has lost eight consecutive games.

‘‘The man works very, very hard. We must manage the workload, otherwise we’re going to have burnout.‘‘

David White, left, on Gary Stead, right

‘‘It’s been a challenging time for us, but the planning for this was done six months ago.

‘‘If you go back and look at the timing – World Cup, a tour to Sri Lanka, a full tour by England, then going to Australia and then playing India now, it’s been a big time commitment, So we’d identified this series.’’

White said Stead’s priorities for the Indian tour were the justcompleted Twenty20 series – with the T20 World Cup looming later this year – and the two-test series,

being part of the ICC Test Championship.

‘‘Of any sport in New Zealand that has the most demands for time, it’s cricket,’’ White said.

White was at pains to point out Stead was reluctant to take a break and had to be encouraged to do so, despite the string of defeats.

‘‘The man works very, very hard. So it’s something that as managers, we must manage the workload, otherwise we’re going to have burnout. Coaching, at an

international level, is one of the toughest jobs in cricket.’’

White acknowledged many fans had expressed their disapproval over Stead’s break and the current losing streak.

‘‘It’s great that the fans care about cricket. We’ve had a tremendous run and it’s tough at the moment – a tough tour of Australia and a tough series against India that could have gone a different way.’’

White said when Stead was

appointed, NZC looked at splitting the role but opted to have Stead as a head coach with support coaches and manage his workload more.

‘‘He’s had a very successful time over those 16 months.

‘‘Test series and test wins away overseas, taking the team to the World Cup final . . . yes we’ve had a challenging time in Australia and now, but gee, if you look back as a whole, on the past 16 months, he’s done a terrific job.’’