Shift the Dial?
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So farewell then Gary Stead as coach of the Black Caps white ball sides.
History should treat him better than he has often been treated in the present.
The WTC 2021 triumph and that still unbelievable whitewash in India last year in the test format are right up there in terms of New Zealand test performances.
In ODs there were the World cup finals in ODI formats in 2019 and 2025. In both cases he could feel aggrieved by falling at the final hurdle. The 2019 World Cup tie braker rules were famously weird, and the BCCI / ICC ensured India was always going to win this year’s Champions Trophy.
Multiple coaches for national sides seem to be the logical way en vogue, but there are doubts as to where that line should be drawn.
International cricket is clearly all over the show, but the format that is getting most air, in all sorts of competitions is T20.
Test cricket is everyone’s favourite, and the WTC has helped there, but there is so much politics ant play that its future will continue to have its challenges for those outside of The Big Three.
Enter ODIs into the room. For a lot of fans this is the Goldilocks form of Cricket. But the thing is, outside of a World Cup year it’s not really played a lot, and has lost a distinguishable team. The side that lost the Champions Trophy final was a Tom Blundell away from the test side.
Putting aside the colour of the ball, ODIs are actually closer to link ODI cricket to the test format, than T20 which is becoming its own sport. There is a good argument that the splitting line needs a revision.
That latest T20 side includes the circuit specialists of Allen, Seifert and Neesham as well as the likes of Chapman, Robinson, Ashok and Abbass. The criticism of New Zealand T20 sides in the Stead era is that it hasn’t been brave enough.
If ODIs are to be the cuddling link between all formats, then it’s logical that the link should be with the less played test cricket while T20s increasingly spiral into their own world.