New Zealand's trouncing of Pakistan in the final ODI series of the season may have marked the end of the home "summer" of cricket, but no one is sure if it has also marked the end of Gary Stead's time in charge of the team.
Stead, who has held the head coach's role since 2018, has so far remained stony-faced and tight-lipped when it comes to questions about his future. That should come as no surprise. Stead has always been a man who does most of his talking behind closed doors and has never been one to actively seek the limelight.
As it stands, his current contract — a two-year extension granted in 2023 – expires ahead of New Zealand's mid-year tour to Zimbabwe. Some in the cricket fraternity believe Stead might be keen to continue as a head coach for the New Zealand test team only, but it is difficult to see his superiors moving away from an all-format appointment.
That then begs the question: Was Saturday night's 43-run victory featuring, among other things, a maiden ODI half century for newcomer Rhys Mariu, a consecutive five-wicket haul for rising seam star Ben Sears (a first for a New Zealander), and the rather jarring occurrence of a total blackout due to the lights failing, the last time Stead coaches a New Zealand team?
If that is the case, it is the far and away one of the most low-key bow outs in New Zealand sports history.
Whichever way Stead leans – an application to continue in the current role, a request for New Zealand cricket to investigate the potential for a split role, or a quiet stage left exit, the governing body will have a massive decision to make. By any measure, Stead’s time in charge must be considered a success, and 'continuity', as has been proven in other sports, is an attractive argument that has often carried the day.
In that regard, Stead's current assistant coach, Luke Ronchi, who confirmed in recent weeks that should a position become available he would definitely apply, has a decent case to put forward. Ronchi has proven to be a loyal and likeable right hand man during Stead's time in charge. Likewise, former Assistant Shane Jurgensen, who left the team last season to take a head coaching position with Wellington could make a case for having a deep understanding of the foundations upon which the side has built sustained success.
Of the outsiders believed to be in the running, Rob Walter appears to be the pundit’s choice. Walter headed up both Otago and Central Districts before being appointed South Africa’s white ball coach. That appointment was originally for four years but last week Walter effectively quit his post, potentially freeing him up for a tilt at the New Zealand job. Another name recently floated was former Black Cap Shane Bond, who has fashioned a formidable consultant coaching career in the franchise leagues.
Yes, New Zealand Cricket will have options both for a fresh approach and for considered conservatism, but arguably the most important element required will be a deep understanding of the sport’s evolving politics, both global and domestic.
With New Zealand Cricket and the New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association at an impasse in their ongoing negotiations around control of NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) rights, and a number of top tier players likely to follow the likes of Kane Williamson, Devon Conway and others in turning down
future central contracts in favour of portfolio pro-league careers, any new coach will be walking into an increasingly volatile environment in terms of player availability and schedule pressure.
If you need an example of just how hard to manage this is already proving to be, look back no further than New Zealand’s bleak T20 world cup performance in the West Indies, inarguably the biggest blot on Stead’s copy book, and by no means one of his own creation.
Whomever coaches the team next naturally will need to be a fastidious planner but will also have to be flexible enough to bend and contort to the will of the game's modern powerbrokers. As was shown by the world's collective stance on India’s Dubai Island approach to the Champion's Trophy, there is only one nation really calling the shots in this sport, and the franchise fantasy land it has claimed for its own is fast approaching the intended critical mass.
Whether that is Stead or someone else, or a touch of both is now a decision for New Zealand Cricket to make, and a crucial and potentially era-defining one. If Stead has called time, then consider this: During his tenure, a full 50 players have represented New Zealand in an ODI. That's an incredible number of players selected, tested, sent back down or retained. But the policy has worked. Reports of New Zealand's golden period waning have, to my mind, been greatly exaggerated. There is arguably more international depth in New Zealand now than there was at the time of the team’s most famous victory under Stead, the World Test Championship.
That's the inheritance that awaits the next in line. And its one that should not be squandered.
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