Cricket: Stead to coach White Ferns

New Zealand Cricket high performance centre coach Gary Stead has been appointed as the new White Ferns coach.

" With the ICC women's World Cup and Twenty20 just around the corner we were looking for the best quality coach as well as continuity moving into these tournaments," NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan said.

Stead had been assisting with the coaching of the side and was a "natural fit for the position," Vaughan added.

Stead has been high performance centre coach since 2004 and coached Canterbury in 2007/08, when they won the State League and State Twenty20 competitions.

He played five tests for New Zealand and scored 278 runs at an average of 34.75.

Stead succeeds Steve Jenkin who resigned earlier this month after three years in charge.

- NZPA