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New Zealand Coach Gary Stead Steps Away From White-Ball Formats
Follow UsThe 53-year-old, however, will take a call on his red-ball future in the coming weeks
New Zealand head coach Gary Stead will step away from the two white-ball formats after his contract expires in June, but will take a call on his red-ball future in the coming weeks.
Under Stead, who took up the role in 2018 and had his contract renewed in 2020 and 2023, New Zealand finished as the runners-up in the 2019 World Cup, the 2021 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy.
It was also under Stead that New Zealand won the first edition of the World Test Championship in 2021 and also whitewashed India in a three-Test series in India last year.
"I'm looking forward to getting away from touring life for a while and having a think about my future. My focus has been on finishing the season strongly with a lesser experienced team,” said Stead.
“The past six to seven months has been particularly busy with relatively non-stop cricket action since September. 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."
Meanwhile, New Zealand Cricket Chief High Performance Officer Bryan Stronach said: "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.
"At the moment we haven't any strong preference for either a split-coaching role or a sole appointment who covers all three formats, and we're unlikely to be clearer on that until we see who's putting their name forward."
According to a report published on ESPNcricinfo on April 3, Rob Walter, who recently stepped down as South Africa’s white-ball coach, is the top contender to replace Stead.