Gary Stead, the head coach of New Zealand's cricket team, announced on Tuesday that he will step down from coaching the team in the limited-overs formats, including Twenty20 (T20) and One-Day Internationals (ODI). The 53-year-old coach shared that he will take time to reflect on his future in Test cricket, with a final decision expected in the coming month, reports AP.
Stead, who took over from Mike Hesson in 2018, has been integral to New Zealand’s success across all formats, guiding them to the 2019 ICC World Cup final, the 2022 T20 World Cup, and this year’s Champions Trophy victory. He also led the team to win the inaugural World Test Championship.
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) confirmed that it would begin advertising for the limited-overs coaching role next week. However, a decision on whether to appoint separate coaches for different formats is yet to be made. Bryan Stronach, NZC’s high-performance officer, praised Stead’s tenure, noting that his leadership produced impressive results, and the board would give him the necessary time to assess his future. “We don’t have a strong preference between a split-coaching structure or one coach for all formats,” Stronach said.
Stead’s decision comes after a successful period for New Zealand, having secured a 4-1 victory over Pakistan in a home T20 series and a 3-0 win in the ODI series, despite many key players being absent due to the Indian Premier League.
Looking ahead, Stead mentioned he is ready to take a break from the touring life, reflecting on his future. "The past six to seven months have been incredibly demanding, and I now want to assess my options," he stated. Despite stepping down from coaching limited-overs formats, Stead feels he still has much to offer as a coach, but not necessarily in the role of head coach across all formats. His next steps will be closely watched by both the New Zealand Cricket Board and fans as they look toward the future.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
