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New Zealand Cricket wanted their new national team manager to start with a home series.
That is why Lindsay Crocker is finishing his five-year term in the job this week and Olympic team boss Dave Currie is starting next week in time for the tour by India.
On the face of it an end-of-season changeover would have seemed a more logical fit, but NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan said the initiative partly came from captain Dan Vettori and coach Andy Moles.
Currie has the job for a three-year term, but will have time off to lead New Zealand's Commonwealth Games team to New Delhi late next year.
A temporary stand-in will be appointed for a tour to Bangladesh, which coincides with the Games.
"We looked at people outside cricket, we looked at other sports, and looked in non-sporting areas as well," Vaughan said.
"In the end Dave was the standout. He's done some exceptional things and the feedback from the New Zealand Olympic Committee and athletes is that there's something very special about him and the environment he creates for elite performance."
Currie's job description is narrower than that of Crocker, with NZC having undergone a restructuring last year. Part of Crocker's work is now under the authority of its recently appointed cricket manager Geoff Allott.
"The job specification has changed so we're starting with a blank piece of paper and looking for a manager to complement Andy and Dan, with particular focus on the World Cup in 2011."
Vaughan confirmed former Rowing New Zealand chief executive Craig Ross was one of those in the frame for the position.
Ross was a central figure in the botched changeover during the West Indies series earlier in the season when he seemed to have been lined up to take over at the start of the tour, before Crocker was retained for that visit and the Australian tour, which ended in Sydney yesterday.
"He was definitely in the loop. Serious consideration was given to Craig and to retaining Lindsay.
"It was unfortunate the way things played out in the media prior to Christmas. Misunderstandings occurred," he said.
"Since that time, in terms of the process we've run subsequently, I'm comfortable with it."
He said the other candidates considered had all been New Zealanders.
Vaughan, Allott and prominent sports manager Roger Mortimer were involved in Currie's appointment.
Vaughan acknowledged Currie has had no specific dealings with cricket but described him as a "passionate supporter" of the game.
