Cricket: Black Caps coach to be named by New Year

NZ cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan. Photo / Hawke's Bay Today

New Zealand Cricket has put a timeline on its search for a replacement for Andy Moles, saying it hopes to name a coach before December 31.

In a move to quell the speculation that has flourished since Moles' departure, NZC yesterday put out a release stating it would name a coach by year's end and have him in place by the time Bangladesh toured in February.

What NZC did not do was offer any clues who it might be.

This means New Zealand will be again without an "official" coach when Pakistan tour for three tests beginning at Dunedin on November 24.

"This will be a thorough process. There's no rush - it's important that we make the right appointment," chief executive Justin Vaughan said.

One of the criticisms of the Moles appointment was that NZC effectively took the last man standing after a number of highly qualified coaches withdrew their interest.

The position will not be advertised and as yet Vaughan has not talked to any potential targets. The reason for this is NZC does not have a clearly defined job description to offer any candidates.

At the conclusion of the five-match tour in the United Arab Emirates, Vaughan will sit down with captain Daniel Vettori and general manager of cricket Geoff Allott to determine what it is exactly they require from a coach.

It appears they are leaning towards a model that would see a strong man-manager with international experience appointed - much like how Jeff Crowe performed the role of manager between 2000-03 - with specialist coaches being brought into the camp when requested.

Vaughan said he had received a number of expressions of interest, from home and overseas. The populist choice would be John Wright, though his potential candidacy received tepid support from Vettori and Vaughan at the time of Moles' resignation.

New Zealand complete the one-day international portion of their series against Pakistan, tied at 1-1, in Abu Dhabi in the early hours of tomorrow morning, before travelling 120km northeast to Dubai for the two Twenty20 internationals.

Vaughan says reports back from the UAE suggest the coaching setup, or what remains of it, is working well.

"The squad has a strong coaching and support team, and Daniel is continuing to provide leadership as captain, with additional input from Mark Greatbatch, who is there as a selector."