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New Zealand men's head coach Gary Stead has officially announced his decision to step down from his role in the white-ball formats, as per the official website of ICC.
Stead will also decide in the next few weeks if he wishes to reapply for the Test role. First appointed to the position in 2018 following the resignation of Mike Hesson, Stead is considered one of New Zealand's greatest coaches, having steered the men's team to the innaugural World Test Championship title in 2021, and to an unprecedented 3-0 Test series sweep of India on the sub-continent last year. In the white-ball formats, the side reached the final of the recently-concluded Champions Trophy in Pakistan and UAE, a Cricket World Cup Final in 2019, and a T20 World Cup Final in 2021. Formally signalling his intention to step down from ODI and T20I role, Stead stated his intention of spending more time at home. "I'm looking forward to getting away from touring life for a while and having a think about my future," said Stead, as quoted from the official website of ICC. "My focus has been on finishing the season strongly with a lesser experienced team," he added. "The past six to seven months has been particularly busy with relatively non-stop cricket action since September," he said. "I now want to evaluate my options but still feel I have coaching left in me, albeit not as head coach across all formats," Stead said. "The next month will give me the opportunity to discuss the situation more with my wife, family and others," he noted. "I'll be in a better position to know whether I want to reapply for the Test coaching position after this time of reflection," he added. Stead has twice had his contract renewed, in 2020 and in 2023, with the latter term expiring in June this year. New Zealand Cricket Chief High Performance Officer Bryan Stronach said Stead deserved the opportunity to take some time out over his decision. "Gary's results have been very impressive over a long period and we're very comfortable giving him some time to collect his thoughts and mull things over," said Stronach, as quoted from the official website of ICC. "At the moment we haven't any strong preference for either a split-coaching role or a sole appointment who covers all three formats, and we're unlikely to be clearer on that until we see who's putting their name forward," he added. Advertising for the positions will commence this week. (ANI)
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