Gary Stead has officially stepped down as New Zealand’s white-ball coach, confirming he will not continue in the role for ODIs and T20Is.
Stead's departure from white-ball coaching duties ends a successful era that saw the Black Caps consistently reach the final stages of major ICC tournaments. Stead, who has held the position since 2018, will decide in the coming weeks whether he will reapply for the Test coaching role.
Stead led New Zealand to several high points, including the World Test Championship title in 2021 and a historic 3-0 series sweep of India on the subcontinent in 2024.
Under his leadership in the limited-overs formats, New Zealand reached the 2019 Cricket World Cup Final, the 2021 T20 World Cup Final, and most recently, the 2025 Champions Trophy Final.
“I’m looking forward to getting away from touring life for a while and having a think about my future,” Stead said. “The past six to seven months have been particularly busy with relatively non-stop cricket action since September.”
He added that while he is stepping away from white-ball duties, he is still open to coaching, just not across all formats.
New Zealand Cricket's Chief High Performance Officer Bryan Stronach expressed support for Stead’s decision to reflect before making a final call on the Test role.
“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,” Stronach said.
Stronach confirmed that the board has yet to decide whether it will split coaching responsibilities or hire a single head coach for all formats. Recruitment for the coaching roles will begin this week.
Stead’s current contract, renewed in 2023, is set to expire in June. His departure comes as the Black Caps aim to lift the Champions Trophy for the first time, having reached the final in Pakistan and the UAE.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ