New Zealand Cricket officials remained tight-lipped last night on the confusion over who will be managing the national team next week.
A peculiar series of events this week have shown NZC's handling of what should have been a straightforward issue in a poor light.
Lindsay Crocker, who hasbeen manager of the New Zealand team for the past five years, arrived in Dunedin for this week's first test against the West Indies to be told his job was going to former Rowing New Zealand chief executive Craig Ross.
Ross arrived in Dunedin on Monday, ostensibly to spend a couple of days of on-the-job training with Crocker before taking over on the first day of the test on Thursday.
But Ross abruptly left Dunedin on Tuesday, and Crocker was asked to stay on as manager. No one at NZC will say what happened.
But Crocker still doesn't know if he heads to Napier with the squad on Tuesday for the second test, or if his tenure is up.
Ross was recently in line to take on the key job of NZC's general manager under the recent restructuring of the sport's national administration.
But the job went to former New Zealand fast bowler Geoff Allott last month.
An NZC statement was to be sent out last night clarifying the situation, but nothing was forthcoming.
NZC's public affairs manager Stephen Hill did confirm that "Lindsay continues as manager at this stage". He said the managerial position was in "a holding pattern".
Several support staff have been replaced, or removed, Hill said, "and that process is continuing".
