The former head coach of New Zealand, Gary Stead, has agreed to take a high performance coaching position with New Zealand Cricket (NZC), where his duties will include developing coaches and helping players in addition to overseeing the high performance initiatives.
Earlier this year, Gary Stead ended his eight-year tenure as New Zealand’s head coach. He oversaw the team’s historic thumping of India last year and led New Zealand to the 2021 World Test Championship during a successful time for the team. In addition, New Zealand made it to the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy in 2025, the ICC ODI World Cup in 2019, and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2021.
Throughout the course of his 34-year involvement with NZC, Gary Stead has played in five Test matches for the nation. Prior to joining the NZC Academy as an aided coach in 2005–06, he served as a coach development manager from 2004–09.
Gary Stead went on to work as a coach after playing in more than 100 First-Class and List A matches.
After serving as the New Zealand women’s team’s head coach from 2009 to 2012, he was named Canterbury’s director of cricket for the following six years. In 2018, he was given leadership of the New Zealand men’s squad after years of arduous labour.
Gary Stead stated that he was still motivated to continue making a contribution to the game and was excited to share his expertise with the larger cricket community.
“New Zealand cricket’s very much been at my heart for the past 30 odd years and to be able to keep contributing to the game I love is really special,” he stated.
“Coaching and attempting to assist others in growing and learning remain my passions. It would be really fulfilling if I could share some of my knowledge and expertise with the larger cricket community and help the Blackcaps and White Ferns win on the international scene.
Gary Stead, who was recently named head coach of Andhra, an Indian domestic team, for the 2025–26 Ranji Trophy, expressed gratitude to the NZC for letting him work outside the organisation to hone his abilities.
“I’m also appreciative of the opportunity to work outside of NZC to broaden my skills and experiences and hopefully I can bring what I learn back into our cricket environment.”
India
