New Zealand Black Caps coach Gary Stead Photo: PHOTOSPORT
For the first time in eight years New Zealand Cricket is seeking a new Black Caps coach but just which teams the newcomer will take control of is yet to be determined.
Incumbent Black Caps coach Gary Stead has stepped down from his white ball duties ahead of his contract expiring in June, though he is still contemplating whether he wants to put his name forward for another go as Test coach.
There is no timeframe on Stead making the call about his red ball future.
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) is "committed" to considering different coaches for different formats for the first time but are maybe not entirely convinced about the concept.
NZC chief high performance officer Bryan Stronach said the "ultimate goal" was to get the "best coach or coaches for our athletes".
"So we don't want to rule anything out when we're looking at achieving that goal because we don't really know what applicants will be thinking about. Who knows who could be interested in the whole role, or part of the role, or the split coaching role.
"We're not set on what that is right now, and so could be with Gary being the Test coach, or it could be without.
"The big thing for us, I keep coming back to, is that we just want the best for the environment right now, and we're not 100 percent sure what exactly that looks like because we're not 100 percent sure of what the potential coaches out there are looking for or want in this role."
Previously NZC had been reluctant to split the coaching role despite Stronach claiming "it's been something we've been considering and seriously considering for a number of years now, and there's been different reasons why we haven't gone down that line at different times".
"You've got to get two coaches who are very aligned when we've got a playing group that spans across all three formats. If you had two coaches, regardless of the formats, going in different directions from a cultural point of view, or a selection point of view, or those sorts of things that could cause some some problems pretty quickly."
Senior player feedback would be considered by NZC when the next coaching arrangement was put in place.
Stronach said NZC was actively "headhunting" for the next coach.
"There's not too many potential coaches out there that I don't think we've already been talking to in some way, shape or form, but hopefully we get surprised by that and we've got even more put their name in the hat."
The kind of qualities Stronach said they were looking for in a coach had changed over time.
"Generally for us we want a coach, and ironically, this is a lot of what Gary's done really well, we want to coach who is stubborn enough that they're not easily influenced by all the noise that's around them, but also open enough to listen and admit when they're wrong.
"But they also need to set a direction that people follow and get on board with. So if they're really self reflective and understand themselves and where they want to take this team really that's that's the core basis of what we're looking for."
Stead replaced Mike Hesson in 2018 and largely continued a period of success for the Black Caps that had begun under Hesson, resulting in his contract being renewed in 2020 and 2023.
"I'm looking forward to getting away from touring life for a while and having a think about my future," Stead said in an NZC statement.
"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."
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