Cricket: Mortimer's cricket role readjusted

The Black Caps enter their home series with a new coach. Photo / Getty Images

Roger Mortimer's role as New Zealand Cricket (NZC) performance director has been redefined following the appointment of John Wright as New Zealand coach, but it appears Dave Currie will remain as the team's manager for the upcoming series against Pakistan.

Wright was named to replace Mark Greatbatch on Monday as a result of a major restructuring following the recent 0-5 one-day series loss in India, which takes to 11 the consecutive number of one-day internationals the New Zealand team have lost.

NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan said yesterday that there would be a readjustment in roles following Wright's appointment as head coach, with Mortimer no longer travelling with the team.

"Coming out of the review of the Indian tour, we believe the best model is for there to be a head coach who leads the unit, and for the performance director not to be travelling with the team," Vaughan told Radio Sport.

"Roger will be coming back and performing duties within the high performance programme at NZC."

Wright said Mortimer would still help with the transition and lead-in to the home series against Pakistan.

He described Mortimer as "one of the most organised operators I've come across", and said he had an impressive track record of success.

"He's the sort of guy that from an organisational and logistical point of view, I'd hope to use his skills from time to time."

Mortimer was appointed performance director in May this year, with Vaughan saying at the time that there was a "real benefit" in harnessing his experience in other sporting areas.

He had guided cyclist Sarah Ulmer and triathlete Hamish Carter to Olympic glory, and would bring a fresh view in terms of cricket.

Greatbatch will continue his role as batting coach within the NZC high performance programme. He will also chair the selection panel.

"(Greatbatch) never signed up to be the head coach... he became the leader of the coaching unit operating under the travelling performance director Roger Mortimer," Vaughan confirmed yesterday.

"Roger Mortimer was at the top of the pyramid - he was leading the Black Caps on tour."

Currie would continue to manage the team for the Pakistan tour, with Vaughan saying a change was not intended "in the short term".

Also on the new independent selection panel, which will exclude Wright and captain Daniel Vettori, are former New Zealand cricket greats Glenn Turner and Lance Cairns.

Turner retains his role as a selector but Cairns, who is currently a selector for the New Zealand under-19 team, is new to the setup.

The coach and captain will continue to contribute to the selection process and will be actively responsible for team selections on tour, but they will not be on the selection panel, as was the case under the previous regime.

The panel has met and is expected today to name its first squads, for the three Twenty20 internationals and two test matches against Pakistan.

The first Twenty20 match is at Auckland on Sunday.

- NZPA