Gary Stead steps down as New Zealand white-ball head coach

Gary Stead has been the New Zealand coach since 2018.

Gary Stead, the long-time head coach of the New Zealand cricket team, has stepped down from his duties in white-ball cricket. Gary Stead took over as head coach of New Zealand after Mike Hesson resigned in 2018.

His contract was scheduled to expire in June after being extended twice, in 2020 and 2023. Stead oversaw a 3-0 test series clean sweep in India and guided New Zealand to victory in the first-ever ICC World Test Championship (WTC) title win in 2021.

Stead led the women’s team to the 2009 Women’s ODI World Cup final, when they were defeated by England, before taking over as head coach of the men’s squad.

Gary Stead to take a few months before deciding on test coaching future

Gary Stead stated that he wants to take a vacation from traveling and spend more time at home. The team made it to the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, the 2021 T20 World Cup, and the 2019 Cricket World Cup under his coaching guidance.

“I’m looking forward to getting away from touring life for a while and having a think about my future. The past six to seven months have been particularly busy with relatively non-stop cricket action since September. I now want to evaluate my options, but still feel I have coaching left in me, albeit not as a head coach across all formats,” Stead was quoted by Cricbuzz.

The 53-year-old stated that he would give it some thought before deciding if he wants to stay on as the test coach for New Zealand. To help him make that choice, Stead said he will speak with his wife, family, and close friends.

“The next month will give me the opportunity to discuss the situation more with my wife, family, and others. I’ll be in a better position to know whether I want to reapply for the Test coaching position after this time of reflection,” Stead said.

In recent years, Stead has distributed coaching duties among formats. Stead was able to occasionally take a breather from the rigorous international schedule thanks to the leadership of assistant coach Luke Ronchi in a number of white-ball series.

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