Volts changes to be known later this month
CHANGES are on the way for the Volts.
Just what those changes involve will not be clear until later this month.
Otago Cricket Association chief executive Mike Coggan has asked for patience while the association works through the findings of the independent review.
Otago endured a miserable summer. The team finished last in the oneday and twenty20 competitions and secondlast in the firstclass competition.
It finished last in all three formats the previous season, so the pressure has been mounting on the team and coaching staff.
The association called in Alex McKenzie, of High Performance Sport New Zealand, to conduct an independent review and he is expected to provide a written report within the next week or so.
Then there is a thorough feed back process to work through before his findings can be presented to the board at its next scheduled meeting on May 23.
‘‘We know there is going to be some change. We just have to be able to work through the process as quickly but as effectively as possible,’’ Coggan said. ‘‘We have to do it properly.’’ Otago’s lean run has given birth to several theories. There have been the inevitable questions about team culture and the performance of the coaching staff.
Others have questioned the motivation and commitment of some of the senior players, which was not always obvious from the sidelines.
But arguably the batting was biggest factor in the Volts’ demise.
The top five all struggled at various stages. All too often the Volts found themselves with half the order back in the dressing room before there were many runs on the scoreboard.
But Coggan said the point of the review was not to apportion blame, rather it was a genuine effort to address shortcomings and make improvements.
‘‘We will be quite open about it. We certainly won’t be saying that player A needs to go in terms of statements.
‘‘But we will certainly make sure [the public] has a consolidated review. We are not going to hide behind things.
‘‘It is not a witch hunt. We are actually trying to finds ways to get better . . . to do that we just have to be honest with ourselves.’’
The contracting process has been brought forward this year, so there is a pending deadline.
New Zealand Cricket [NZC] is expected to offer 20 players contracts next week, and the first round of domestic contracts are offered a month later.
The six major associations have 16 domestic contracts to offer — up one from last season. Otago’s review will provide the background when deciding who is offered a contract. However, there is more wriggle room with the extra contract available.
Otago’s struggles have not gone unnoticed at the top. NZC high performance general manager Bryan Stronach expressed concerned when approached for comment last month. However, he was complimentary of the work the association was doing in the high performance area.
‘‘There is a whole lot of stuff they are putting in place, which is fantastic,’’ he said.
‘‘The thing is that will take a little bit of time to come through for it to be seen in the results.’’