Gary Stead is back with New Zealand Cricket, taking on a new role as high performance coach to boost player and coach development, along with key high performance programs.
NZC’s Chief High Performance Officer, Daryl Gibson, explained that Stead will commit to about three days a week on average throughout the year. This setup gives him flexibility to grow his expertise elsewhere.
Stead just wrapped up an impressive eight-year run as head coach of the BlackCaps, New Zealand’s men’s cricket team, back in June. Now, he’s stepping into a head coaching gig with India’s domestic side Andhra for the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season—a major first-class cricket tournament that will help him sharpen his skills.
“Gary can also take on outside roles, like his recent part-time spot with Andhra for their upcoming four-day matches,” Gibson said. “It’s a great chance for him to build more knowledge and experience.”
Before this, Stead offered interim coaching help to Otago Cricket during the winter pre-season and jumped into a New Zealand Under-19 camp this month. He made it clear he’s still fired up about advancing cricket in his home country.
“New Zealand cricket has been close to my heart for over 30 years,” Stead shared. “Getting to keep contributing to the game I love feels really special.”
He added, “I’m passionate about coaching and helping people learn and get better. If I can share my skills and experiences with the broader cricket community—and in turn, help the BlackCaps and White Ferns succeed on the world stage—that would be incredibly rewarding.”
Stead also thanked NZC for the freedom to work externally. “I’m grateful for the chance to broaden my skills outside the organization,” he said. “I hope to bring what I learn back to strengthen our cricket setup here.”
Stead has been a key figure in New Zealand cricket since his first-class debut in 1991 at age 20. He played more than 100 first-class and List A matches for Canterbury, often as captain, and earned five Test caps for the national team.
His coaching journey with NZC started in 2004 as coach development manager, followed by assistant coach at the NZC Academy (2005-06), head coach of the White Ferns women’s team (2009-12), and head coach and director of cricket at Canterbury (2012-18). He then led the BlackCaps from 2018 until recently.
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