Gary Stead, the former New Zealand batsman, has been named Mike Hesson‘s successor. He will take over as New Zealand coach for a two-year term, following Hesson’s resignation from the post in June.
This means Stead will oversee New Zealand’s run to the 2019 World Cup; he already has some experience in the matter, having coached New Zealand’s women’s side to the final of the 2009 World Cup and 2010 World T20.
Stead, 46, has also previously worked with New Zealand’s High-performance Centre between 2004 and 2008, and took over as Canterbury coach in 2012, leading them to four titles in four seasons from 2013-14 to 2016-2017.
In 1999, Stead played his five Tests for New Zealand, batting in the top order and never being dismissed in single digits. He hit two half-centuries, with a top score of 78 against India in India. That knock, a gritty, second-innings blockathon – his 78 came off 173 balls – helped New Zealand draw the Ahmedabad Test after playing out 95 overs. However, an average run against West Indies followed, and Stead never played for New Zealand again.
In filling Hesson’s void after he left the coaching job a year ahead of schedule for personal reasons, Stead will have a tough act to follow. In his six years as coach, Hesson took New Zealand to new ground, their stirring run to the final in the 2015 World Cup and dominance at home in Test cricket being the chief highlights. Under Hesson, they won eight out of 11 Test series at home. In all, Hesson’s record reads: 21 wins and 21 losses in Tests, 65 wins and 46 losses in ODIs, and 30 wins and 26 losses in T20Is.
Stead’s first assignment will in October, when New Zealand play Pakistan in the UAE.