All of this occurred during Gary Stead‘s term as head coach of the BlackCaps, which ended on June 4. From 2018 to 2025, the New Zealand squad accomplished numerous amazing things that have made them a competitive international cricket team.
During Gary Stead coaching stint, the New Zealand squad defeated India at home for the first time and won the first World Test Championship in 2021. But there were also some tragic events during his time there, such as the defeat to England in the 2019 ODI World Cup final. Since the super over was deadlocked, the Kane Williamson-led team lost on a boundary count in one of the most contentious World Cup final finishes. Stead has also talked candidly about the defeat and the team’s eventual growth.
“I believe there were undoubtedly frustrations inside the squad and organisation. Since both teams scored the same number of runs during the match, I suppose you can say that, taken as a whole, it was an incredible cricket match. In an interview with Arvind Kalyana Krishnan, as reported by Cricblog, Gary Stead stated, “I think it showed the evenness of the competition, and in some ways it’s sad that there has to be a winner and loser in that situation, but we were lucky in that we had to move on very quickly.”
The problem with international cricket is that we had to travel to Sri Lanka for a series shortly after. Even though it was extremely disappointing, I believe it was for the best that we would be playing cricket again soon so we could move on and look back. Time passes, though it can still be difficult to discuss, because I felt we played really well that day. You must accept that these were the regulations that day and go on,” Gary Stead continued.
Gary Stead is replaced by Rob Walter.
Rob Walter has been named as Stead’s replacement and will take over as the BlackCaps’ head coach. Walter, who has extensive coaching experience, most recently served as the South African cricket team’s coach from January 2023 to April 30, 2025. The 49-year-old’s current deal with the Kiwis runs through 2028.
India
