New Zealand cricket team’s world-famous resilience will be tested once more after the country’s cricket board announced the departure of their longest-serving and most successful men’s national team coach, Gary Stead.
The 53-year-old had already stepped away from his white-ball duties earlier this year and was considering whether to stay on as the Test coach. But with New Zealand Cricket (NZC) now expected to move toward a single head coach for all three formats, Stead has confirmed that he will leave once his contract finishes, bringing to a close a remarkable seven-year run that reshaped Blackcaps cricket across all formats.
Gary Stead took over the role in 2018 after the departure of Mike Hesson and managed to guide the team to some of its best finishes in international cricket. Under his watch, New Zealand reached the final of the 2019 ODI World Cup, losing a controversial contest to England. In 2021, he managed to guide his team to a historic first World Championship Crown against India, while New Zealand also reached finals in both the 2021 T20 World Cup and the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, and two semi-finals in the 2022 T20 World Cup and the 2023 ODI World Cup under his coaching.
Perhaps his crowning achievement came just last year, when New Zealand became the first team ever in the history of the sport to whitewash India 3-0 in a Test series on Indian soil.
Although Gary Stead is stepping back for now, he made it clear that he isn’t done with cricket.
Gary Stead’s departure marks the end of an era in New Zealand cricket. From lifting a global trophy to competing consistently at the highest level across formats, his leadership helped cement the Blackcaps’ place among the world’s elite teams.
As New Zealand prepare to find a new head coach, they do so standing on the strong foundation Stead helped build—one based on unity, resilience, and belief.