Traditional foes remain Black Caps’ test weakness as Gary Stead ponders coaching future

Sunday, 13 April 2025

Black Caps coach Gary Stead is pondering whether he wants to stay in charge of the test team.

ANALYSIS: Is it time to replace your most successful coach in test cricket history?

That’s what New Zealand Cricket have to make a judgment on - should Gary Stead decide he’s keen to continue in charge of the Black Caps red-ball team.

The head coach for the past seven seasons has declared he doesn’t want to remain in charge of the ODI and T20I sides, but may yet seek to extend his contract for a third time by staying on as test coach.

Stead’s test record as head coach for the past 52 matches has surpassed all before him - under his guidance since late 2018, New Zealand has won 27 tests, drawn six and lost 19.

His predecessor Mike Hesson was in charge for 53 tests, with the Black Caps winning 21, drawing 13 and losing 19. The highly-competitive NZ test side of the 1980s, featuring Sir Richard Hadlee and Martin Crowe, won 17, lost 15 and drew 27.

Black Caps coach Gary Stead says any advantage India has gained from playing all their Champions Trophy matches in Dubai does not worry them too much.

The introduction of the World Test Championship, and the increased run-scoring rate, has benefited Stead’s record - draws are not as valuable as teams seek to qualify for the WTC final, nor as sought-after from teams in losing positions.

Stead’s reign began with a miraculous win over Pakistan in Abu Dhabi - in the first game of the three-match series, Pakistan were dismissed for 171 when chasing 176 for victory in their second innings, with spinner Ajaz Patel taking 5-59. New Zealand eventually won the series 2-1.

Yet just over a year later, Stead’s troops took an absolute hammering in Australia, losing their three tests by 296 runs, 247 runs and 279 runs respectively.

That was seemingly the end of NZ’s inaugural WTC campaign after just five matches, with a 1-4 record. But the Black Caps took full advantage of seaming wickets to defeat India 2-0 at home, thumped the Windies twice here and did the home double over Pakistan.

After pipping Australia for second spot, New Zealand won the title with an eight-wicket victory over India in Southampton.

Their title defence received an unexpected dent when beaten at home by Bangladesh in January 2022, and was extinguished later that year when swept by 3-0 in Brendon McCullum’s first series in charge of England.

Further ups and downs followed, but when New Zealand lost their series in Sri Lanka 2-0 last September - not long after a disastrous T20 World Cup campaign - any semblance of Stead being retained appeared tenuous at best.

But a phenomenal 3-0 upset of world No.1 India immediately after, which was widely rated as the greatest performance in NZ’s test history, lifted his standing once more - even allowing for a disappointing 2-1 home defeat by England at the start of summer.

The Black Caps have remained a winning test team at home, recording 18 victories in 27 encounters during Stead’s reign, with two draws.

They’ve bossed India under Stead’s guidance - six wins, a draw and just the solitary defeat – but Australia have remained our nemesis, with five losses in as many matches.

Stead’s record against England is 4-6, with all six defeats to the ‘Bazball’ side under McCullum’s rule, while NZ’s two wins during that time are the one-run victory at the Basin Reserve and in Tim Southee’s final in December with the series already lost.

So the job applicants would be best-placed to sell themselves to NZ Cricket on the basis that they believe they can elevate the test team to fare better against our trans-Tasman rivals, and the team coached by our former test skipper.

Counting against Stead could be the oft-touted maxim that the players need a new voice, with new ideas.

Kane Williamson is one of just two players from Gary Stead’s debut as test coach still in the NZ side.

But just two regulars remain from his first test match in charge - current captain Tom Latham and former skipper Kane Williamson, and there are doubts over Williamson’s international future - he’s already confirmed he’ll skip the two tests in Zimbabwe mid-year while playing various formats in the UK.

Opener Devon Conway and pace bowler Kyle Jamieson are the other two players alongside Latham and Williamson who played in the WTC final victory who are still with the side, although Conway’s status as a first-choice selection is no longer certain, while Jamieson has missed plenty of test cricket in recent seasons with back injuries.

Four current standouts in the test side have flourished during Stead’s reign - Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Matt Henry and Will O’Rourke.

While NZC said advertising for the head coach position would start very shortly, Chief High Performance Officer Bryan Stronach admitted the search had already begun.

“We definitely go head-hunting,” Stronach said.

“There's a communication piece around our potential coaches for the future, where we're trying to stay in contact with them all the time.

“We try to be pretty honest with them right through all the time that Gary's been there, really not knowing what the outcome is around what's happening with Gary from contract to contract.

“There's not too many potential coaches out there that I don't think we've already been talking to in some way, shape, or form, but hopefully we get surprised by that and we've got even more to put their name in the hat.”

Stomach said the ultimate goal is that NZC wants the best coach or coaches for its athletes, as it considers a split-coaching set-up .

“So we don't want to rule anything out when we're looking at achieving that goal, because we don't really know what applicants will be thinking about.

“The big thing for us is that we just want the best for the environment right now, and we're not 100% sure what exactly that looks like because we're not 100% sure of what the potential coaches out there are looking for or want in this role.

“There's so much international cricket being played these days that a pro, I guess, of the split coaching role is the specific knowledge around those formats, but also the time, even just to think about those formats, to think into the future and, and so forth around that.

“On the other side of things, you've got to get two coaches who are very aligned when we've got a plan for a group that spans across all formats.

“The majority of the players play across all three formats, and if you had two coaches, regardless of the formats, going in different directions from a cultural point of view or a selection point of view, all those sorts of things could cause some problems pretty quickly.

“I think both structures have their pros and cons. We've just got to work through those and find the right ones for now.”