Ex-Proteas coach Rob Walter split on benefits of dual roles amid Black Caps search

Saturday, 10 May 2025

Former South Africa coach Rob Walter - like New Zealand Cricket - believes there’s pros and cons to a split-coaching role.

Walter stepped down earlier this year from his role as head coach of South Africa’s white-ball teams, midway through his contract, for personal reasons.

The 49-year-old, who has previously coached the Otago and Central Districts men’s teams in the New Zealand domestic competition, has since been viewed as a likely possible successor to long-term Black Caps coach Gary Stead.

Stead’s contract ends shortly and he has already said he won’t seek to stay in charge of the T20 and ODI national sides, but was pondering whether he wanted to be considered as test coach - a role he has filled since 2018.

NZ Cricket boss Scott Weenink said the organisation would consider whether it would employ two separate coaches for the test and white-ball formats.

“There's pros and cons like anything, just like there'd be pros and cons to a single coach,” Walter told The Post.

Walter said he and South African test coach Shukri Conrad had a good, open relationship, with both seeking to make decisions that were best for the Proteas.

“At times, that meant providing rest to critical players, because ultimately every test match was a must-win scenario.

“So it's much like playing in a tournament, where you need to have your best team for each of those games.

“By nature, you are never going to have two coaches with the same style. What that does is create not necessarily a negative or positive, it's just what is, and then the challenges come in with regards to how the world of cricket as it exists currently.

“There is a high player turnover, and that generally happens in the shorter formats of the game, because you're trying to play your best team at either marquee events or for test matches.

“We've seen teams do it differently. The majority of international sides still have a single coach and probably maneuver their assistants around to create a gap for head coaches to take breathers here and there.

“That's the sort of general trend. England have gone back from two [coaches] to one, West Indies have gone back from two to one.

“I don't think there's a right or wrong.”

Walter wouldn’t comment on the Black Caps job - or jobs - but admitted he was unemployed “and coaching international cricket is ultimately where people want to be”.

“The two environments that I know best are South African cricket and New Zealand cricket and being in a position to make an influence is obviously something that I would be interested in.”

Walter said it was an “incredibly difficult” decision to step down from his job with the Proteas.

“It was for a number of different reasons, not just family, but ultimately one I felt was best for the team and myself.”

While he was overseeing the white-ball teams, South Africa sent a vastly understrength test squad to New Zealand as their best players were committed to play in the country’s burgeoning domestic T20 competition.

The Proteas lost both tests to the Black Caps, but remarkably still qualified for this year’s World Test Championship final against Australia.

Walter said the demand for the players to contest the SA20 “ultimately did signal a shift in thinking”.

“The league for South African cricket was critical, to keep Cricket South Africa functioning well, and able to have the resources to do the things that they want to do internationally.

“It was a clash that potentially shouldn't have happened, but the tournament now I would think is one of the top in the world from a franchise point of view. The players speak very highly of it, it really has been hugely successful in South Africa in terms of crowds - you're talking about full stadiums most of the time - and so the energy around the tournament is significant, and with that comes everything, the flow-on effect, the input of the owners who are owning multiple teams around the world.

“Not an ideal situation to send that team to New Zealand, but fortunately that test team has been able to do incredibly well and get themselves to a championship final. Hats off to the way that the guys played, to win nine out of 12 to get there is pretty impressive.”