Cricket: Eye on top coaching job but not just yet

Meet Mike Hesson. He will probably coach the Black Caps. But not now.

The Otago coach is unusual - he's one of the few who never played cricket to top level. Hesson has a reputation for little fuss, a deliberately low public profile and a steely ambition to mentor the best in the country.

The odds of that happening right now are low but it's likely he will get some form of interview following the vacancy left by Andy Moles.

There's a theory he will at least sample what is needed to coach New Zealand, perhaps as an assistant.

The 35-year-old has built an impressive CV.

He has coached cricket for 17 years, straight out of school, including 7 years as director of coaching at Otago before becoming assistant to Glenn Turner.

Hesson's now in his fifth season coaching the senior team by himself and has spent two years as head coach of New Zealand A.

In addition, Hesson took the winning Otago Twenty20 team to the inaugural Champions League in India and spent time at Gloucestershire when John Bracewell returned there this year. Hesson acknowledges it's all about building his credentials, having never played the game at the top level.

"It helped me get to know the scene with an experienced coach like Braces, to see how it operated for a possible job in the future. Being involved with the Black Caps certainly interests me, it just depends what sort of role it might be at the right time. I'm not so much hunting around for my next job but let's just say I continually want to challenge myself.

"I've expressed some interest through my agent but it depends what type of person and coach they require and whether I fit that mould. I've also got a young family to consider, although often we don't as coaches."

Hesson is renowned as capable of harnessing player talents and galvanising his charges into action. For instance, Otago hadn't won anything since the Shell Trophy in 1987-88 before they took out the State Shield 50-over competition in 2007-08 and the Twenty20 contest last year. Otago captain Craig Cumming says Hesson offers strong communication skills and a sound work ethic.

"While he's young, he's spent his whole working life as a coach so he's aware of player problems. A lot of us when we leave school try to be cricketers but Hess went down the coaching route, doing a lot of the groundwork in the technical stuff which quite often players take for granted. He's probably coached more than some coaches at first-class level, it's just that a lot of them had longer playing careers."

Hesson agrees it's a strength: "I like to think I'm a good communicator and well-organised so players generally know where they stand. I also like to keep things simple so players feel comfortable about going out and achieving."

Such skills have seen him shoulder-tapped for the Sparc coaching accelerator programme. He's one year into a three-year course alongside the likes of All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen.

"It's a group diverse in the skills it brings to the table and we're not afraid to query and help each other out."

Dr Alex McKenzie is a mentor for that course: "One thing we looked for was people capable of coaching world or Olympic champions. New Zealand Cricket thoroughly endorsed him and said if he wasn't a coach, he'd make a great business CEO because of his organisational skills." He says Hesson is reasoned, relaxed and someone who you'd trust in a crisis, like when the group went horse-whispering to improve non-verbal communication skills.

"The rules were you had to get the horse to move without touching or talking to it, which Mike did with aplomb."

Cumming might well have a vested interest but says the Otago coach is not quite ripe for the step to the next level.

"Someone like Mike wants to make sure he's truly ready. I don't think another couple of years is going to make him any worse. The more experience he gets, the more success he'll have at the top. I think he needs to do a little bit extra ... and would probably want to.

"I know his approach is one our players enjoy and he's brought the best out in a lot of Otago players in the last two or three years. A part of it is being a man-manager, you don't have a convenor of selectors, you're hands-on with everything. He's also a big reason why I'm still playing the game."

Hesson has some international experience.

"I coached Argentina for a spell in their [failed] bid to reach the World Cup finals in 2003. We won three games that year after previously being 0 from 31. It was a great experience."