15 Aug 2018

Stead to take over Black Caps

1:09 pm on 15 August 2018

Canterbury's Gary Stead will replace Mike Hesson as Black Caps coach, New Zealand Cricket confirmed today.

New Black Caps coach Gary Stead.

New Black Caps coach Gary Stead. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/Photosport

A former New Zealand batsman who played five tests in 1999, Stead coached the White Ferns to World Cup finals in 50-over and Twenty20 formats, and has won three Plunket Shield titles with Canterbury.

Stead, who stood in as a batting support coach for the Black Caps in 2016-17, was also an NZC high performance coach between 2004 and 2008.

He has signed a two-year contract, with the flexibility to co-opt additional expertise or specialist coaching support if necessary, particularly in terms of the T20 format.

Stead begins his tenure on September 1. His first assignment with the Black Caps will be the test, one-day internationaI and T20 series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in late October.

He said he was looking forward to the challenge of building on the Black Caps' achievements.

"It's a matter of helping maintain New Zealand's strong form on the international scene, but also respecting what's happened over the past four or five years by continuing to push for improvement," he said.

"This is a well-established and high-performing Black Caps side with an excellent captain in Kane Williamson, and a real desire to win series and titles.

"It's an honour and a privilege to be part of that, and I can't wait to get started."

NZC chief executive David White said Stead was an outstanding candidate who came from a background steeped in high-performance.

"We're delighted for Gary - he has excellent qualifications, a solid temperament, vast experience, and is open to innovation."

Stead takes over from Hesson, who stood down on July 31 to spend more time with his family.

During Hesson's time in charge, New Zealand achieved its first-ever series win in any format in South Africa, in 2013 with a one-day series victory.

The side achieved a New Zealand record five test wins in 2014-15 and 10 consecutive wins (in all formats) in 2015, and again in 2016-17.

New Zealand also reached its first World Cup final in 2015 and posted its fourth test series win over England in 88 years.