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*Unofficial* New Zealand Black Caps Thread

Mike5181

International Captain
Probably the best coach we've had in my time watching, even with some questionable selections in the last two or so years.

I don't imagine he's retiring from coaching or anything, so this looks like another case of the IPL being more appealing than international cricket.
 

straw man

Hall of Fame Member
That is quite the surprise. Should probably say well done to him - got everyone offside with the Taylor/McCullum captaincy thing, however in the years since then they've pretty well left that behind them and he has built a very good record with the team.

Six years is a long time in the job and NZ could potentially benefit from a fresh approach, however the difficulty will be getting a quality applicant who's willing to take on the job for whatever money NZC are offering.
 

Mr Miyagi

Banned
Probably the best coach we've had in my time watching, even with some questionable selections in the last two or so years.

I don't imagine he's retiring from coaching or anything, so this looks like another case of the IPL being more appealing than international cricket.
The pay is much better, and the travel is far less with all those home games, and the duration, well its it is 2 months plus the Auction.
 

SteveNZ

Cricketer Of The Year
https://www.nzc.nz/news-items/hesson-to-resign

Yep, burnout.

I'm really torn about this one. On one hand, I'm a father of two kids and I don't like being away from them, so 9-10 months for 6 years doesn't bear thinking about, even for a dream job. So I get that.

But he just took a (presumably) high paying job in the IPL for 6-7 weeks, then makes a call about burnout? That's pretty poor timing, especially 12 months out from a World Cup. He says he can't guarantee a commitment to the next 12 months, yet spent his down time making more money recently. That is not ideal at all.

Yeah, I'm trying to be human about this but I can't be. We've always been cynical of players who are only tired until big $ opportunities come up, and now a coach is doing it.
 

SteveNZ

Cricketer Of The Year
That is quite the surprise. Should probably say well done to him - got everyone offside with the Taylor/McCullum captaincy thing, however in the years since then they've pretty well left that behind them and he has built a very good record with the team.

Six years is a long time in the job and NZ could potentially benefit from a fresh approach, however the difficulty will be getting a quality applicant who's willing to take on the job for whatever money NZC are offering.
Yeah, I just think the timing stinks. If he was doing it 2 years out from a World Cup, OK. And if it wasn't just after a nice IPL cash grab, then fair enough. And hey, no one's going to castigate him over it too much, the poor timing won't be his legacy so good on him. But I think it is all a bit weak.
 

Bahnz

Hall of Fame Member
Did a terrible job in his first 6 months - though really that was as much NZC's fault as his. He then oversaw a scarcely believable turn-around in New Zealand's performances. It's important to remember that I started the Doom and Gloom thread immediately prior to his taking on the job. It really did seem like NZ cricket was circling the drain and might never recover. Hard to know how much of the turnaround is him, and how much of that is down to the spontaneous emergence of Soult and KW. Nonetheless, he made intelligent changes to the side (bringing back BJ and Wagner, shifting BMac to 5), showed faith in new and emerging players (almost to a fault during the Fulton/Baby-Rud era) and overall took a sensible "what-works" approach to team selection and strategy. The fact that Taylor has managed to have a relatively fruitful and controversy-free last 5 years helps to mitigate the colossal balls-up in Sri Lanka. The team's also produced a number of impressive performances even when shorn of top performers (e.g. last year's Hamilton test v SA). Overall, I think it's a loss even if you ignore the imminence of the world cup. Wish him all the best though.
 

NZTailender

I can't believe I ate the whole thing
He's been a great servant, and achieved great things in terms of NZ cricket. Well done to him.
 

Mr Miyagi

Banned
He has been brilliant for NZ.

He got us up where top teams like England want to emulate our plans and strategies.

Made himself famous.

Made himself in demand presumably.

And NZC is unable to compete with bigger money (and less travel with shorter hours of t20 assuming that is what it is).

It would be harsh after him citing burnout to see him coaching India or England next. I actually hope he goes t20 than to a Big 3 nation.

Either way, there are inferior coaches to him earning a lot more for doing a lot less. NZC just doesn't have the funds to keep talent like him once the world knows that they're talented.

Congrats on doing the NZ job well Hess!
 
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jcas0167

International Debutant
Yeah, I just think the timing stinks. If he was doing it 2 years out from a World Cup, OK. And if it wasn't just after a nice IPL cash grab, then fair enough. And hey, no one's going to castigate him over it too much, the poor timing won't be his legacy so good on him. But I think it is all a bit weak.
tbf, it sounds like he was commentating in the IPL, as opposed to a coaching role. Six years in the role is a huge stint by NZC standards, and the position has become more demanding with T20 and a more congested international calender. I too can't imagine how hard it would be with a young family.

I don't think it will make much difference in terms of NZ's WC performance. NZ were bundled out in the Champions Trophy in England last year and lost the ODI series to England at home.

I think Hesson's legacy will be the 2015 WC, the reduction in sledging (which Oz seem to be looking to emulate), and improved test results. These coincided with the rise of some outstanding individual players, but Hesson seems to have moulded the team well as he apparently did with Otago.

Thinking of other NZ coaching stints:

Frank Cameron 84-85
Glenn Turner 85-87
Gren Alabaster 87-88
Bob Cunis 88-90
Warren Lees 90-93
Geoff Howarth 93-95
Glenn Turner 95-96
Steve Rixon 96-99
David Trist 99-01
Denis Aberhart 01-03
John Bracewell 03-09
Andy Moles 09
Mark Greatbatch 09-10
John Wright 10-12
Mike Hesson 12-18
 

straw man

Hall of Fame Member
tbf, it sounds like he was commentating in the IPL, as opposed to a coaching role.
Yeah I doubt it was enormously lucrative, though he'll likely line up a coaching job there some time in the next couple of years (or maybe he already has). He's done the hard work coaching NZ for six years and gone from an unknown to being very well-placed for future international positions if he wants them. Can feel proud of his achievements.

Next coach - Fleming the dream or McMillan the nightmare? I've seen Gary Stead mentioned too.
 

Bahnz

Hall of Fame Member
Frank Cameron 84-85
Glenn Turner 85-87
Gren Alabaster 87-88
Bob Cunis 88-90
Warren Lees 90-93
Geoff Howarth 93-95
Glenn Turner 95-96
Steve Rixon 96-99
David Trist 99-01
Denis Aberhart 01-03
John Bracewell 03-09
Andy Moles 09
Mark Greatbatch 09-10
John Wright 10-12
Mike Hesson 12-18
The Mark Greatbatch one deserves a "?" next to it. I don't think even he knew whether he was the coach or not. You're missing Dan Vettori who was the player coach in 09-10. Fleming also probably deserves a coaching credit during the Aberhart era, as by all accounts he was the driving force behind NZ's strategies during that period.

Of the coaches since I've been watching, I'd say Hesson is probably #1, though it's close between him and Rixon. Tough to compare the two, as Rixon had access to the low-hanging fruit in the form of lifting NZ's then dire fielding standards and getting ****s like Cairns and Parore to stop behaving like ****s (at least on the field).

Mid-tier steady hands were Lees, Aberhart and Wright.

Then there's the simply bad coaches - guys who were clearly out of their depth like Geoff Howarth (who by some accounts was hitting the bottle pretty hard during his tenure) and Andy Moles.

Finally, there's the coaches who not only did a bad job on the coaching side of things, but also helped to wreck the team culture in the process. Glenn Turner is the best example of this, but John Bracewell also deserves a dishonourable mention. Maybe that's being a little harsh on Bracewell as he did achieve good results in ODI's during his tenure. But looking at things from the point of view of tests, Bracewell not only oversaw the decline of NZ from a solid mid-tier team to a distant 8th, he also played a significant role in driving guys like Fleming, Styris and Andre Adams into early retirement, weakening the side for years after his departure.
 
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straw man

Hall of Fame Member
Agree with what Bahnz posted above, and was also just thinking how many of the NZ coaches in the last couple of decades have left suddenly after only a short time in charge, left under a cloud, or been ejected. It's been the majority.

Glenn Turner 95-96
Steve Rixon 96-99
David Trist 99-01
Denis Aberhart 01-03
John Bracewell 03-09
Andy Moles 09
Mark Greatbatch 09-10
John Wright 10-12
Mike Hesson 12-18
(admittedly don't remember the particular circumstances with Trist and Aberhart well, but they both only spent a short time in charge and Trist's departure was quite sudden according to a news report, and Aberhart 'lost patience with the prolonged appointment process')
 
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Flem274*

123/5
Pretty much with Bahnz on this one.

Clench your cheeks boys, David White might appoint someone like himself.
 

SteveNZ

Cricketer Of The Year
tbf, it sounds like he was commentating in the IPL, as opposed to a coaching role. Six years in the role is a huge stint by NZC standards, and the position has become more demanding with T20 and a more congested international calender. I too can't imagine how hard it would be with a young family.

I don't think it will make much difference in terms of NZ's WC performance. NZ were bundled out in the Champions Trophy in England last year and lost the ODI series to England at home.

I think Hesson's legacy will be the 2015 WC, the reduction in sledging (which Oz seem to be looking to emulate), and improved test results. These coincided with the rise of some outstanding individual players, but Hesson seems to have moulded the team well as he apparently did with Otago.
Yeah, I don't know what difference it makes whether he was coaching or commentating. This is odd because I'm usually a massive NZC sycophant. And yeah, 6 years is a massive stint. But to me, it's just a bit pongy that he's called time less than a year before the World Cup, and done so just after choosing to spend his spare time in India being paid over being at home, which is the reason for him quitting.

And I'm not sure it'll make a difference, but we're all calling him a great coach (and so am I, for the record) - so what if they don't find the right guy? And even if they do, it's now less than 12 months before the World Cup, not at all ideal for a new guy to come in - with his own staff or stick with what's there? - and have to get things firing straight away. And jeezus christ god forbid as someone said, Craig McMillan is named coach.

I don't want what I've said to detract from the fact that Mike Hesson is probably our greatest ever coach. He did wonderful things to take us from the horrible affairs in 2012 to where we got to. I think he's the archetypal modern-day coach - more of a man manager/general manager who puts people around him to do the specialist/technical stuff (and Hesson has got as far as he has with abysmal skills coaches).

I just think the timing is a bit rubbish. But good on you Mike Hesson, you left a legacy anyway.
 

Mr Miyagi

Banned
Yeah, I don't know what difference it makes whether he was coaching or commentating. This is odd because I'm usually a massive NZC sycophant. And yeah, 6 years is a massive stint. But to me, it's just a bit pongy that he's called time less than a year before the World Cup, and done so just after choosing to spend his spare time in India being paid over being at home, which is the reason for him quitting.

And I'm not sure it'll make a difference, but we're all calling him a great coach (and so am I, for the record) - so what if they don't find the right guy? And even if they do, it's now less than 12 months before the World Cup, not at all ideal for a new guy to come in - with his own staff or stick with what's there? - and have to get things firing straight away. And jeezus christ god forbid as someone said, Craig McMillan is named coach.

I don't want what I've said to detract from the fact that Mike Hesson is probably our greatest ever coach. He did wonderful things to take us from the horrible affairs in 2012 to where we got to. I think he's the archetypal modern-day coach - more of a man manager/general manager who puts people around him to do the specialist/technical stuff (and Hesson has got as far as he has with abysmal skills coaches).

I just think the timing is a bit rubbish. But good on you Mike Hesson, you left a legacy anyway.
Will anyone be surprised if he is announced as a coach or "mentor" for an IPL team next year, or a "hundred" team, or worst case scenario - as England or India coach?

The guy is 43 years old.

During his six years in charge, the team won more matches than they lost in all three formats. McCullum, for what it's worth, has labelled him "the best".
He has a family. And he is a professional cricket coach. He was on 250k (presumably USD).

Who gets paid what in cricket | The Cricket Monthly | ESPN Cricinfo

Here are some IPL coach and mentor salaries

IPL 2018: What are the salaries of Indian Premier League coaches?

As per a report published in The Times of India, it is Daniel Vettori, head coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore, who is the highest paid coach. He is followed by RCB’s bowling coach, Ashish Nehra, who draws a cheque of Rs 4 Crore. Ricky Ponting,
4 crore is roughly 600k USD. (to do Jurgo's job effectively). So more than twice as much as the NZ head coach job, for 2 months. And I have no idea how much more Vettorri earns than him. But I have seen some big numbers floated around at more clubs.

I would not be surprised to see him coaching RCB next year. (Maybe reunite with Baz McCullum.) Or a different team. But Vettorri was not popular this year.
 
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