Stead quits as New Zealand white-ball cricket coach

Gary Stead speaks with the media on December 23, 2022. — AFP

Wellington: Gary Stead announced Tuesday he will step down as New Zealand´s white-ball cricket coach and is considering his future with the Test team.

The 53-year-old, who has been in charge of all three formats since taking over from Mike Hesson in 2018, said he wanted to spend more time at home.

“I´m looking forward to getting away from touring life for a while and having a think about my future,” he said, pointing to a hectic calendar in the last six months that saw “relatively non-stop cricket”.

Stead said he was evaluating his options, “but still feel I have coaching left in me, albeit not as head coach across all formats. “I´ll be in a better position to know whether I want to reapply for the Test coaching position after this time of reflection,” he added.

Arguably New Zealand´s most successful coach, Stead´s contract expires in June. New Zealand Cricket´s chief high-performance officer Bryan Stronach said the search for a new coach would begin next week, with Stead being given time to decide if he wants to reapply for the Test role.

“Gary´s results have been very impressive over a long period and we´re very comfortable giving him some time to collect his thoughts and mull things over,” said Stronach. “At the moment we haven´t any strong preference for either a split-coaching role or a sole appointment who covers all three formats. “We´re unlikely to be clearer on that until we see who´s putting their name forward.”

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