KEY POINTS:
Andy Moles was busy clearing out his desk at Seddon Park yesterday, his job with Northern Districts done.
Next week he begins work at a higher level, replacing John Bracewell as New Zealand coach.
To some, his was a surprising appointment. Bigger names had been bandied about.
Former Australian coach John Buchanan, past and current South African coaches Graham Ford and Micky Arthur were among those on the list. So when the former Warwickshire batsman, whose international credentials included Kenya and Scotland was unveiled this week, there was an immediate whisper about: New Zealand Cricket had missed out on their preferred candidates. Moles knew other names were in the frame. Does it concern him that he might not be seen as NZC's first cab off the rank? Not a jot.
"New Zealand Cricket communicated with me that I was very much in the forefront of a very short list," he said yesterday. "To coach New Zealand is a prestigious opportunity and quite rightly you get some big names applying for the opportunity. At the end of the day I've been entrusted with the job and I can only promise 100 per cent commitment."
Discuss cricket with Moles and it soon becomes clear there are no short cuts. Hard work and honest application are essential.
One of his buzzwords is "challenge", as in challenging the players to improve themselves. And the 47-year-old challenged himself when he applied for the New Zealand coaching job.
"I could have taken the cosy, easy ride [at Northern Districts] but coaches, like players, need to put themselves under pressure to get the best out of themselves."
He adheres to the code of his former Warwickshire coach, and close personal friend, Bob Woolmer. Woolmer, who died while coaching Pakistan at last year's World Cup, was hugely respected as a coach and Moles is a passionate advocate of the former England batsman's philosophies.
"The watchword he used was 'never be happy with mediocrity'.
"He always felt he could learn, and that's something I've taken on. He was prepared to talk to anybody about cricket, whether it was the man on the street, a player, coach or administrator. That's a great skill."
Moles will be cut some slack when he takes over next week. He'll initially be inheriting players whose selection he's had nothing to do with.
And while he doesn't have a timetable for turning New Zealand's fortunes round, he has a plan for bedding in his protocols and practices within the national squad.
"The first thing is to get to know the players; the first big thing I want to bring to the table is that practice is a rehearsal of performance. You need to practice with match intensity.
"Now I haven't seen the guys practice, so I'm not saying they're not.
"It's a case of me getting them to buy into whatever is different to what they're doing at the moment. It's not going to happen overnight, but I certainly expect by the end of the West Indies tour - that's six weeks away - that they will have bought into the messages I'm trying to get across."
He will want to see individual improvement by then. He knows some will make strides quicker than others. That's life. He values loyalty and will demand 100 per cent work ethic, the sort of approach which he brought to his county career.
If his adherence to the Woolmer ways bears fruit over the course of the West Indies and Indian tours in the coming months, he'll have gone far in putting the doubters in their place.
* Former New Zealand allrounder Grant Bradburn will replace Moles as ND coach for the remainder of this season, with ex-ND player Craig Ross his assistant.
Bradburn has coached ND's A side for the past four years and has also coached the Cook Islands team.
