Gary Stead’s Black Caps coaching era ends after nearly seven years

Black Caps coach Gary Stead. Photo / Photosport

Gary Stead’s almost seven-year reign as Black Caps coach appears to be at an end.

Stead, who has already stood down from the white-ball role, has not been interviewed in any capacity.

He will leave having fashioned arguably the position’s greatest record with a world test championship, a 3-0 series victory in India and 50-over and 20-over Cricket World Cup final appearances to his credit.

Former bowling coaches Shane Bond and Shane Jurgensen, incumbent assistant Luke Ronchi, and former domestic and recent South African white-ball mentor Rob Walter were the candidates interviewed.

That in turn has sparked intrigue as to why multiple championship-winning coach Peter Fulton failed to get a hearing.

The panel featured New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chief executive Scott Weenink, board members Dion Nash and Roger Twose and current players Tom Latham and Daryl Mitchell.

Meanwhile, the seven-month dispute between the Black Caps and New Zealand Cricket over the players’ name, image and likeness rights is over.

The players, backed by their association, appear to have achieved an outright victory after a feisty contractual match with the governing body.

Lawyers padded up to grind out a resolution over a spat which essentially pivoted on whether players could only be marketed exclusively under the NZC banner.

The New Zealand Cricket Players Association (NZCPA) claimed no one could own rights to the players without their permission, and that they are subject to the governing body’s constraints only when wearing NZC’s trademarks and logos.

The move paves the way for the completion of central contract talks – they could be released as soon as next week.