Then there were four: Quartet in race for White Ferns job
Wellington Firebirds men’s coach Glenn Pocknall and former Australian star Joanne Broadbent are in the running to become the next White Ferns’ head coach.
The White Ferns’ head coaching search is down to the final four candidates with the first of two rounds of interviews to be conducted next week.
White Ferns assistant and former Black Cap Jacob Oram is also understood to be in contention for the top job.
Former head coach Bob Carter stepped away from the role in March after New Zealand’s disappointing Women’s Cricket World Cup showing on home soil, where they failed to make the semifinals – finishing the tournament with three wins and four losses from seven games.
Northern Districts men’s assistant coach Sri Krishnamurthy and Canterbury men’s high performance development coach Brendon Donkers could be other possible contenders.
Australian women’s bowling coach Ben Sawyer, who is also head coach of the Sydney Sixers women’s T20 Big Bash side and the Birmingham Phoenix in the English Hundred, was understood to have been sounded out about the position.
New Zealand Cricket spokesperson Richard Boock said they were ‘‘very happy’’ with the standard of applicants.
Several people will be involved in the interviewing process, but the panel charged with making the final decision will be NZC’s general manager of high performance Bryan Stronach, NZC chief executive David White, former White Ferns wicketkeeper Rebecca Rolls and an unnamed player.
The White Ferns’ next event is the inaugural T20 women’s tournament at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, starting in late July. There was a possibility the side could have an interim head coach for that event if the new head coach couldn’t start until later in the year.
Pocknall, who has been Wellington men’s coach since 2019, guided the Firebirds to the Ford Trophy one-day title in 2018-19 when he took on the coaching reins for that campaign.
He also steered the Firebirds to back-to-back Super Smash T20 titles in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
Wellington captured the Plunket Shield under his coaching in 2019-20 – their first four-day title since 2003-04. In September last year he was temporarily in charge of a second-string Black Caps side on their T20 tour to Bangladesh, where New Zealand lost the five-match series 3-2.
Pocknall, who was previously Firebirds’ assistant since 2013, has experience as New Zealand A and New Zealand XI head coach.
In September last year he was temporarily in charge of a secondstring Black Caps side on their T20 tour to Bangladesh, where New Zealand lost the five-match series 3-2.
Broadbent, who played for Australia between 1990-2000, is head coach of the Northern Brave women’s side.
She was initially brought in as the assistant alongside head coach Kari Carswell for the 2019-20 campaign and moved into the head coaching position in 2020-21.
Whoever is named White Ferns’ coach will be tasked with turning around a side, who have fallen well behind the benchmark of women’s international cricket, Australia and England.
White Ferns greats Suzie Bates (34) and Amy Satterthwaite (35) are also at the back-end of their outstanding careers and could easily step away from international cricket in the next 12-18 months – leaving a huge void.
The White Ferns face a critical next 12 months with the Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa in February 2023, following on from the Commonwealth Games.