Cricket: Carter back helping Black Caps

Bob Carter has been reconfirmed as assistant coach-cum-computer analyst with the New Zealand cricket team for a second international season.

He heads straight into a hands-on coaching role guiding the New Zealand Academy team that leaves for Brisbane later this month.

Carter has resigned his position as executive director of the Canterbury United soccer club in the national league which cuts directly across the summer season.

Carter juggled both jobs last summer when an opportunity arose to join the Black Caps in the combined role in November.

"I was grateful to the board of Canterbury United for letting me go away but I knew I could not take that time away again in the middle of their season," Carter said yesterday.

Carter proved he could provide value to New Zealand Cricket performing the video analyst role on match days, then using it as a coaching tool in the nets at training.

"It takes a wee while to get the hang of it, having not used it before, but once you get familiar with it, it is an excellent system," Carter said.

"It provides so much information and is an ideal coaching aid."

After taking the team to Queensland, Carter will be with the Black Caps when they tour Zimbabwe in August and South Africa in November.

Carter and Black Caps coach John Bracewell go back a long way, having coached against each other both in New Zealand, when Carter was with Wellington and Bracewell at Auckland, and later in England with Bracewell at Gloucestershire and Carter at Northamptonshire.

Both coaches were on courses in England for their level four coaching certificate, the highest attainable, before coming back to New Zealand.

- NZPA