Gary Stead’s 34-year association with New Zealand cricket is set to continue, after he accepted an NZC high performance coaching role tasked with supporting player and coach development, as well as high performance programmes.
Stead, who concluded a highly successful eight-year stint as BLACKCAPS coach in June, has been a mainstay on the cricket scene since he made his first-class debut in 1991 at the age of 20.
The son of former Canterbury player David and nephew of Test player Janice, Stead played over 100 first-class and List A games for Canterbury, many as captain, and featured in five Tests for the BLACKCAPS.
He first joined NZC as a coach development manager (2004-09), before becoming an assisted coach at the NZC Academy (2005-06), WHITE FERNS head coach (2009-12), and Canterbury head coach and director of cricket (2012-18), before he was appointed to the BLACKCAPS in 2018.
Stead and Kane Williamson after the inaugural World Test Championship Final - Photosport 2021
NZC Chief High Performance Officer Daryl Gibson said the organisation was delighted to secure Stead’s services.
“Gary’s knowledge and experiences in cricket is immense and the fact he’s still passionate and motivated to give back to the game in this country speaks volumes about his character,” he said.
“His role, which is a commitment of three days a week on average over the year, will see him work across much of the high-performance network, allowing our national and domestic coaches, players and staff to tap into his expertise and IP.
“Gary is also able to work outside of NZC, such as his recent part-time appointment to the Indian domestic side Andhra for their upcoming four-day competition, an experience which will allow him to further grow his knowledge and experience.”
Stead, who provided interim coaching support to Otago Cricket over the winter pre-season, has already been involved in a New Zealand under 19 camp this month, and said he still had the desire to keep pushing cricket forward in this country.
“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,” he said.
“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.
“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.”
