Cricket: Trist raises job division

By RICHARD BOOCK

JOHANNESBURG - Outgoing New Zealand cricket coach David Trist can see the time when the job might be split in half in order to cater for the separate demands of the one-day side and the test team.

Trist made the comments at the team's hotel yesterday morning after New Zealand Cricket had finally given up trying to persuade him to reconsider his position, and announced that he would not be seeking a renewal of his contract when it expired at the end of August.

The 53-year-old former Eastern Province coach has a close understanding of conditions in South Africa, who will host the 2003 World Cup, and was considered an important ingredient in terms of New Zealand's bid to go one better than last year and reach the tournament final.

However, Trist wrote to NZC in September outlining his decision not to seek a renewal and has remained firm in his convictions, despite some 11th-hour efforts to retain his services.

"It's an all-consuming job which I've enjoyed," he said. "But you simply have no space, no time and your life isn't your own any more.

"I've done what I set out to do and after two years I think it's time to hand over to someone else, who will come in fresh and be ready to take the side to the next step.

"I've done all I can, and the team will be best served with a new face."

He had not predetermined his future, but was keen to keep his hand in cricket, possibly through some sort of contracted development role, and was also looking forward to pursuing his interest in the bloodstock and agricultural industries.

Trist was at pains to explain that he had notified NZC of his decision after the series win in Zimbabwe rather than during the unsuccessful tour of South Africa, and suggested that it was nigh impossible to sustain your energy in a job that was so demanding.

"In all honesty, I think NZC will take a close look at the issue, at the separate demands of the one-day and test teams, and it's possible that separate coaches for each format could be an answer.

"We've got to be innovative in how we develop the coach's role, and I'm sure NZC will be asking 'can we do it better, how can we better use our resources,' because the key in all of this is sustainability.

"We've had a very tough tour of South Africa, but no way am I saying that I'm standing down because the job has become too hard - it's just that I think it's the right time."

However, he said he would be leaving unfulfilled after the disappointments in South Africa, where a weakened and injury-struck New Zealand side have lost all five one-day internationals and the first two tests.

His early indication that he would not be seeking to extend his tenure as coach has at least given NZC time to start planning for their third coach in the space of three years, and it is a commentary on the goodwill between them that he declared his intentions in September.

"NZC has been very supportive and I couldn't have asked for a better boss," he said. "But I want to balance my life a little, enjoy a bit of reflective time."