Stead gets nod for Black Caps
Gary Stead will be announced as new Black Caps coach as soon as next week after he was unanimously recommended to the New Zealand Cricket board.
Stuff understands Stead was the five-man selection panel’s clear choice to succeed Mike Hesson ahead of the other shortlisted candidate, Central Stags Plunket Shieldwinning coach Heinrich Malan, after both had their final interviews in recent days. Both men have been informed of the decision.
The final step is for the NZC board to ratify Stead’s appointment, which is expected to be a formality. It is understood Stead has already been approved by NZC’s high performance advisory subcommittee, before it goes to the full board.
Canterbury’s Stead, 46, was a short-priced favourite since Hesson’s shock decision in June to step down with a year to run on his contract, to spend more time with his family. Despite the demands of the job, it won’t be split and Stead will be head coach of all three formats, with next year’s World Cup in the UK his major target.
The five-test Black Caps batsman emerged through the powerhouse Canterbury team of the 1990s, playing 101 first-class matches over 14 seasons and scoring 4984 runs at 32. On retirement in 2006 he quickly turned to coaching and guided the women’s White Ferns to the 2009 World Cup final, where they lost to England, before taking the Canterbury men’s job in 2012.
In his five seasons at the helm, Canterbury won three Plunket Shield titles in 2014, 2015 and 2017, and one Ford Trophy 50-over final in 2017.
Stead was chosen by a panel made up of NZC chief executive David White, current test wicketkeeper BJ Watling, former Black Cap Luke Ronchi, former national selector and test opener and current Wellington coach Bruce Edgar, NZC board member Don Mackinnon and NZC general manager high performance, Bryan Stronach. Ronchi was absent for the final stages of the process to play in the Caribbean Premier League.
Captain Kane Williamson, who will need to work closely and harmoniously with Stead, was extensively consulted.
South African Malan, 37, was a strong candidate who guided the Stags to both white ball finals and the Plunket Shield title last season. He impressed with his technical coaching ability, man management and player development to international level, but the top job probably came up too soon in his promising career.
Both Stead and Malan are understood to have chased the New South Wales job this year which went to Phil Jaques, before Hesson announced he was standing down.
Former successful Northern Districts coach Grant Bradburn, who made progress with Scotland, missed the shortlist as did Auckland’s Mark O’Donnell, a former Black Caps assistant now in charge of Jamaica Tallawahs in the CPL.
Several overseas candidates were in the mix, but no household names to convince the panel they needed to veer from proven New Zealand domestic coaches.
Hesson’s success in six years in the role convinced NZC to try and maintain the momentum with someone who knew the system well and wouldn’t make drastic changes. Stead spent time in the Black Caps camp last summer and, along with the other five domestic coaches, was regularly consulted by national selector Gavin Larsen.
The selection system, with the coach having the right of veto alongside Larsen, is expected to continue. Stead’s first assignment in charge will be the tour of the United Arab Emirates against Pakistan starting in late October, with squads already chosen by Hesson and Larsen.
Several high profile candidates didn’t apply due to the time commitment required, notably former bowling coach Shane Bond, and Edgar who built a strong culture with the Firebirds.
Former captains Stephen Fleming and Daniel Vettori weren’t interested due to their lucrative Twenty20 jobs. Rowing New Zealand high performance director Alan Cotter has announced a surprise resignation ahead of the world championships.
The former coxswain, who has been in charge of the high performance programme since after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, informed athletes and staff yesterday morning.
The organisation has recently undergone an independent review into its culture and set-up and Rowing NZ said Cotter resigned so the organisation could ‘‘continue to look forward, so we can refresh and continually improve to maintain our place as world leading in the high performance environment’’.
Cotter, who was unable to comment to Stuff, will stay on to oversee the team at the 2018 world champs in Bulgaria next month.
A Rowing NZ media release said its own internal review began in April this year to provide insights free from the emotions that can surround ‘pinnacle’ events, like the Olympics.
‘‘The well-being of our athletes and the culture of our organisation is paramount to everything we do. We are constantly evaluating how we are performing both on and off the water. It is important we are not looking backwards at the outcomes of campaigns but continue to look forward, so we can refresh and continually improve to maintain our place as world leading in the high performance environment. Alan Cotter agreed to resign for this to occur,’’ the release said.
‘‘Key themes identified in the review are being acknowledged and steps will be taken to continue to put the culture and care of our people first.’’
Cotter, who as a 22-year-old Ngaruawahia coxswain steered the New Zealand men’s rowing eight to a bronze medal at the world rowing championships on Lake Karapiro in 1978, assumed the role of high performance manager at Rowing NZ when he succeeded Andrew Matheson, who left after the Beijing Olympics to join Rowing Australia. Matheson is now the chief executive of Cycling NZ after a stint as general manager with High Performance Sport New Zealand.
During that time, New Zealand
Canterbury’s Stead, 46, was a short-priced favourite since Hesson’s shock decision in June to step down with a year to run on his contract, to spend more time with his family.
‘‘Key themes identified in the review are being acknowledged and steps will be taken to continue to put the culture and care of our people first.’’ Rowing NZ media release
won eight Olympic medals – five at the 2012 London Games and three at Rio 2016 – and became a dominant rowing nation at World Cup and world championships level, joining the likes of Great Britain and Germany as rowing superpowers.
It hasn’t all been plain sculling, however, with a number of elite rowers and coaches falling out with the organisation’s hierarchy. London Olympic gold medallist Joseph Sullivan eventually quit the sport when he couldn’t gain selection following his 2012 triumph in the double scull with Nathan Cohen. Sullivan was later part of the America’s Cup-winning Team New Zealand yachting crew.
Leading women’s single sculler Emma Twigg was made unavailable for selection for the 2015 world championships after opting to study fulltime in the UK and Europe.
The 2014 world champion was keen to combine study with racing in Europe, and then defend her world title, but Rowing NZ ruled Twigg couldn’t be selected if she didn’t train at Lake Karapiro with the summer squad.
She returned to contest the 2016 Olympics and narrowly missed a medal, before taking a further break from the sport but is expected to chase a medal at Tokyo 2020.
World famous coach Dick Tonks had his direct coaching relationship with the sport’s governing body in this country end in December, 2015, when he was found to be coaching four Chinese rowers here without the knowledge of Rowing NZ.
The organisation later finalised a deal which saw Tonks oversee men’s single sculler Mahe Drysdale and the women’s double scull crew for the 2016 Olympics, with Drysdale winning gold again.