Cricket: Batting coach likely choice

National selector Mark Greatbatch. Photo / Hawke's Bay Today

National selector Mark Greatbatch is emerging as a strong contender to be New Zealand's batting coach, an appointment that could leave just a soccer-style manager to fill out New Zealand's back-room staff.

Despite repeated messages that New Zealand Cricket are looking to appoint a head coach, the Herald understands it is more likely they will opt to sign up a batting coach who will complement the other specialists already working with the team.

Instead of a head coach, influential voices within the setup are known to favour a manager with a strong cricketing background, such as former captain and now ICC match referee Jeff Crowe.

That will leave captain and selector Daniel Vettori with a lot of the responsibility for the team's cricketing well-being, something bosses are increasingly comfortable with.

NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan has made it clear that of the three disciplines, batting is the one in most urgent need of attention.

That was borne out by some distinctly ordinary displays in the recent drawn test series against Pakistan.

However Vaughan has consistently kept silent on progress in securing a replacement - in whatever job description - for Andy Moles, who was dumped late last year.

"The primary focus is work on our batting unit, but the side needs someone who is going to take them forward," Vaughan said.

The top two local candidates for the job of batting coach are a pair of former test left-handers, Greatbatch and John Wright. Both have done some high-performance work with NZC and the reports on Greatbatch have been extremely favourable.

Greatbatch accompanied the side to the United Arab Emirates for their recent one-day and Twenty20 series against Pakistan, although he has had less success as a head coach than Wright.

Despite opportunities to endorse Wright's credentials as head coach around the time of Moles' departure, neither Vettori nor Vaughan spoke effusively of the prospect of the former national captain and successful Indian coach taking over in that capacity.

However under the Greatbatch scenario, it is inconceivable that NZC won't maintain a continued role for the public's favourite, Wright, somewhere within the team operation.

If Greatbatch does get the batting job it might cause a reshuffle in the selection ranks. With Vettori already on the panel from within the camp, there might be some reluctance to have two.

The likelihood then is Greatbatch would be replaced on the panel.

Crowe, who captained New Zealand in 1987-88, was team manager at the start of this decade and proved a popular and effective operator.