New Zealand Cricket (NZC) recently came forward and announced that Gary Stead will be rejoining them, but as a high-performance coach. Just three months after stepping down as the national men’s head coach after seven years, Stead has made his return to New Zealand.
Stepping down as the Black Caps’ most successful coach, Stead’s new role will be to support the players and help in their development. Over the seven years that Stead spent with New Zealand, he propelled the side to the inaugural World Test Championship title in 2021 and swept India 3-0 in India in a Test series in 2024.
Speaking of his association with New Zealand Cricket, Gary Stead first joined the side as a coach development manager (2004-2009) before becoming an assistant coach at the NZC Academy (2005-06). Furthermore, he became the New Zealand women’s head coach from 2009 to 2012 and Canterbury head coach and director of cricket (2012-18) before he joined the men's senior team in 2018.
Stead reflects on his new role with New Zealand Cricket
With Stead’s appointment as the new high-performance coach of New Zealand Cricket, the 53-year-old took centre stage and talked about how close to his heart New Zealand Cricket is to him.
"New Zealand cricket's very much been at my heart for the past 30 odd years, and to be able to keep contributing to the game I love is really special. I'm still passionate about coaching and trying to help people learn and improve. If I can pass on some of my skills and experiences to the wider cricket network and in turn help the BLACKCAPS and WHITE FERNS win on the world stage - than that would be really satisfying,” Stead was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
"I'm also appreciative of the opportunity to work outside of NZC to broaden my skills and experiences and hopefully I can bring what I learn back into our cricket environment,” he added.
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