By RICHARD BOOCK
Auckland's search for a provincial coach will enter a new phase today when a four-man appointments committee meets to discuss the leading contenders.
By the deadline on Tuesday evening, 18 applications had been received for the position, which became vacant after the resignation of Auckland's State championship-winning coach,
Tony Sail.
Having watched his side cement the silverware late last month, Sail opted to step down to devote his energies to elite development.
Chief executive Lindsay Crocker said he hoped the applications would be screened in the next two or three weeks and the successful candidate announced in July.
While he declined to identify the applicants, Crocker said a wide range of talent was available.
He was confident a suitably equipped successor would be found.
"We've had expressions of interest from far and wide, including Britain, Australia and South Africa, and I'm sure we're going to have a good pool from which to pick," he said.
"Our goal is to find someone who has a track record as a successful coach, someone who has demonstrated that he can run a team, as opposed to simply being able to contribute on a technical level.
"There is much more to being a coach than merely picking out an incorrect batting stance or a faulty grip - and in that regard we'd have to have a hard look at anyone who has successfully run a team."
Possibly the most likely contender is former New Zealand all-rounder and Central Districts coach Dipak Patel.
Crocker refused to say if he had applied and Patel could not be reached yesterday.
An Auckland resident and an experienced coach, Patel resigned from the Central Districts position at the end of the season in what was widely seen as a manoeuvre to free himself up for the Aces job.
Crocker said the new coach would have a hard to act to follow after Sail's success, but most of the ground-work had been completed and the replacement would have strong support.
