Recently retired New Zealand cricketer Daniel Vettori has been appointed coach of the Brisbane Heat for the next three Big Bash League Twenty20 seasons.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Vettori was contracted as a player with the Heat through the first four Big bash seasons and has been rumoured to take over as coach since Stuart Law was dumped after a poor 2014/15 season when they won just two of their eight games.
The Brisbane Heat's announcement comes two days after the 36-year-old officially retired from international cricket, following the Black Caps' seven-wicket loss to Australia in the Cricket World Cup final.
Vettori will continue as coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, which starts next week.
He said it was a big job but one that he's excited about tackling.
Dan Vettori playing for the Brisbane Heat in 2013. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Vettori said he found his initial experience as the coach of Bangalore in the IPL to be very rewarding last year, so was grateful to them for allowing him this additional opportunity to develop his coaching skills and background.
The left-arm spinner was named in the International Cricket Council's World Cup best XI after claiming 15 wickets at 20.46 in the tournament, a fitting footnote to a career that saw him finish as one of New Zealand's greatest players.
Queensland Cricket high-performance manager Brett Jones said having Vettori on board for the next three BBL seasons would certainly assist them with finalising the bulk of their recruiting and planning for the coming year.
As Vettori will not coach the Queensland Bulls in the Sheffield Shield, he will be the first stand-alone coach in the Heat's history.
