Time for a change

In what has been seen as a big step towards the future, New Zealand Cricket have abolished their old managerial structure and started afresh which also means its time for a new coach, manager and selection panel.

Under the new structure it is expected that Stephen Fleming will have a lesser amount of input on the final say than he did under the old regime.
It is well known that the previous New Zealand coach Denis Aberhart did not really mind taking a backseat however with John Bracewell being appointed as the new coach he brings different attitudes and philosophies to the game aswell as the fact that he has no patience with individuals who want to upstage a team environment as shown in his recent coaching position at English County side Gloucestershire.

That may mean bad news for players like Craig McMillan and Matthew Sinclair who at times have appeared to have been at odds with decisions made by NZ Cricket and the coaching staff.

Fleming himself has suggested at times that he would like to have almost total control of the team and this may come into conflict with Bracewell who is likely to want greater control than Aberhart or Trist ever did because of his style of coaching. It will be interesting to see how this relationship develops with arguably two totally different personalities.

Jeff Crowe had stated earlier in the year that he wished to pull-out as team manager of the Black-Caps once his contract expired after the Sri Lankan tour. This perhaps made New Zealand Crickets desire of tweaking the position a little easier without trying to push Crowe.

While Crowe was said to be excellent at team management, he could also act as a second coach with his background of international cricket. However New Zealand Cricket have decided to move away from that type of manager & install former Auckland Cricket boss Lindsay Crocker who is more likely to be the man that Bracewell reports to while on tour regarding team matters rather than the hands on approach that Jeff Crowe had with the players regarding technical issues with their game.

It is relatively up in the air as to who will make-up the selection panel, it has been suggested that Convenor of Selectors Sir Richard Hadlee could make way for John Bracewell. Yet with not much light shed on the issue at this stage it is hard to tell what just might happen.

While alot of focus will be on how the management structure works, alot will also be on John Bracewell and how he can build on New Zealand's reasonably successful growth in world cricket in recent times.
Bracewell comes to New Zealand cricket with an excellent One Day record with Gloucestershire having won 5 trophies between the two seasons of 1999 & 2000 and a winning percentage of around 65% overall during his 5 year term.
However his winning percentage at First Class level has been poor at 25% and in 5 years has failed to lift Gloucestershire out of the County 2nd Division.

There's no doubt that Bracewell will have his work cut out. He comes at time where several veteran players like Chris Harris & Chris Cairns are probably close to calling it quits and where there is a distinct lack of spin & fast bowling talent in the Country.
Yet twice now he has lifted teams out of depression (Auckland back in the early 1990's when they had not won a title for 9 years and also Gloucestershire who had only won 2 titles in their history before Bracewell joined them)so the potential is there for Bracewell to take New Zealand to greater heights.

Bracewell has decided to stay loyal to Glouc's and finish the season with them so that means he will miss the tour to India which is arguably the toughest tour for any team. Alot of the players selected could well be on trial infront of Bracewell as he looks for players who show character in tough situations and who are also showing a willingness to work together as a team.


Posted by Tim