Greatbatch named New Zealand coach

WELLINGTON: Former Test batsman Mark Greatbatch was named New Zealand's national cricket coach on Saturday in a conservative appointment which seemed to preserve captain Daniel Vettori's powerful role within the team.Greatbatch previously coached the NewZealand province Central Districts and the English county Warwickshire and iscurrently a New Zealand selector. In announcing his appointment, NewZealand Cricket said Greatbatch would have "particular responsibility fordeveloping batting performance within the team." It added: "Daniel Vettori willcontinue his high-level involvement in the selection of the team, team tacticsand strategy." Vettori has been captain, coach and selector of theNew Zealand team since its previous coach, Englishman Andy Moles, resigned inOctober after criticism from senior players. "We have put a greatdeal of thought, and consulted widely, about how we progress the currentBlackcaps unit, without upsetting the current leadership momentum within theteam," NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan said "We also consideredthe credentials of a number of high-profile international options."Over the past 12 months the Blackcaps team, under the captaincy ofDaniel Vettori, has made significant advances in terms of developing a cultureof individual accountability. I know Mark is strongly supportive of the way theteam has progressed and will complement Daniel well." New ZealandCricket has not revealed who it interviewed for the coaching role, althoughformer Australian batsman Darren Lehmann said on Friday he had been in talkswith NZC about the role. Greatbatch follows Moles as a relativelylow-profile appointee with little previous international experience. Moles cameto the job after coaching Scotland and Kenya while Greatbatch hasn't previouslyheld a sole-charge role at international level. He wasWarwickshire's director of coaching between 2005 and 2007 but left under a cloudafter the county's relegation from the county championship and Pro40 League andwas replaced by Ashley Giles. "Our experiences with Mark have beenconsistently good," Vaughan said. "His recent elevation onto thenational selection panel has been viewed as an outstanding success and he hasreceived overwhelming praise for his communication and honesty with players andcoaches." Despite some minor successes _ reaching the final of lastyear's Champions Trophy _ New Zealand is placed sixth on world Test rankings andfourth one one-day international rankings. The recent retirements of bowlersShane Bond and Iain O'Brien, all-rounder Jacob Oram and batsman Nathan Astlehave left the team severely depleted. Greatbatch was still positiveabout his appointment. "There is a real desire for success within this currentBlackcaps unit and there are some very talented individuals," he said. "Ibelieve that I can make a very positive contribution to the team and to thebatting unit in particular."