Birthday special: Gary Stead – The man behind New Zealand’s resurgence
New Zealand is an awe-inspiring cricket nation. With a population of fewer than five million people, they have become impregnable when it comes to making the most of what’s available in their backyard. Whether it’s about producing the next formidable crop of players or continuing to maintain their arduous stance as one of the top-quality teams in international cricket, they have stupendously achieved this balance all because of the ingenious deployment of its former personnel.
After a successful six-year-long tenure of Mike Hesson, it is Gary Stead’s tempo which is now controlling the reigns of New Zealand cricket. A top-order batsman, Gary had a very short stint in international cricket as he represented New Zealand in only five Test matches in 1999. Because of his mediocre performances, he played his last Test against the West Indies and got dribbled from NZ’s international team.
Coaching career
Later he began his prolific coaching stint while being appointed as the coach of the national women’s team in July 2008. Under him, the women’s team reached the finals of 2009 World Cup and 2010 World T20. Following that he had a remarkable run with his domestic side, Canterbury, guiding them to four consecutive domestic titles from 2013-14 to 2016-17.
While replacing Mike Hesson, Gary’s appointment as the head coach of the men’s team in August 2018 came at a crucial juncture as the 2019 World Cup was just 10 months away. His appointment was a two-year tenure until the 2020 World T20 which was supposed to be held in Australia.
Undeniably, since Gary’s appointment, New Zealand is having an efficient run in international cricket. The team almost triumphed in the 2019 World Cup glory, won an away Test series against Pakistan and drew the Test series in Sri Lanka.
?? head coach Gary Stead and assistant coach Luke Ronchi reviewed the @BLACKCAPS‘ #CWC19 journey ahead of the crunch match against ???????!#BackTheBlackCapspic.twitter.com/pDpiW1hCh2
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) July 3, 2019
At home, New Zealand has continued their indomitable run by beating England, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and West Indies in Test cricket.
In September 2020, Gary was retained as New Zealand’s head coach for a three-year tenure until the 2023 World Cup. His new tenure now looks an eventful one comprising two lofty T20 World Cups and an ODI World Cup. It will be the second-longest tenure of a head coach after Mike Hesson’s six-year tenure.
