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New Zealand has appointed Rob Walter as the coach of all three formats of New Zealand men's cricket team in place of Gary Stead. Walter was the coach of South Africa's ODI and T20 teams from January 2023 to April this year. Prior to this, he coached for five years in New Zealand's Otago Province and Central Districts Association.
New Zealand cricket under Walter's coaching
Under Rob Walter's coaching, South Africa made it to the semifinals of the ODI World Cup 2023 and the Champions Trophy this year. Not only this, he also played an important role in taking South Africa to the finals of the T20 World Cup last year.
“It’s an amazing opportunity to work with such a talented group of players and support staff through a period of time in which so many global events, as well as massive bilateral series, will be contested,” Walter said. “I just can’t wait to get started. It’s exciting, it’s challenging and the opportunity is enormous.”
The 49-year-old Rob Walter was high on New Zealand Cricket's list of preferred candidates from the moment it decided to pursue another all-formats coach, ruling out Stead who guided the Black Caps to the inaugural World Test Championship.
He'll take over in time for New Zealand's tour to Zimbabwe, which starts with a T20 tri-series against the hosts and South Africa before a two-test series against Zimbabwe.
Stead step down from his role in March
Stead has been New Zealand's head coach across all three formats since 2018. New Zealand Cricket announced earlier this week that it was looking for a new coach to replace him.
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Stead announced in March that he was stepping down from his role in limited-overs formats but wanted to stay on as Test coach. New Zealand Cricket, however, said it preferred to have one coach for all three formats.