Former New Zealand cricketer Shane Bond has been selected as the fourth coach of New Zealand national cricket team.
Shane Bond Appoints as NZ Coach
Bond, a former bowling coach with the national side, will be in the UAE at the IPL with Mumbai Indians prior to the World Cup and New Zealand hope he will be able to provide valuable insight along with the group of players returning to their franchises.
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) hope Bond can give valuable inputs to the Kiwi players who will be competing for their respective franchises in the IPL.
“Shane`s been in our environment before and understands what we`re about,” head coach Gary Stead said.
“Being in the UAE immediately prior to the World Cup… he`ll hopefully bring some tactical insight into what`s been happening in the competition,” Stead was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
“He`ll be an extra set of hands, especially around the bowlers, working with the spin and the pace bowlers and developing their plans in a tournament that moves pretty quick — so we need to be one step ahead of other teams.
“Shane`s been working away with New Zealand players for a long time and he`s been involved in our recent camps so it`s been good for him to reacquaint himself with our guys. He`s held in high regard and I know he`ll bring a lot of knowledge and opinions to the group,” added Stead.
Bond, who stepped down as Sydney Thunder coach in the BBL earlier this year, has been working with both the New Zealand men’s and women’s squads at their winter camps preparing for the upcoming tours.
He will join Stead, Shane Jurgensen and Luke Ronchi as the coaching staff for the World Cup and India T20s.
New Zealand were the first team to confirm their World Cup squad last week and will head into the tournament with tours of Bangladesh and Pakistan although will be without their IPL players for those series. Stead will also miss those two tours with Glenn Pocknall stepping in alongside assistants Graeme Aldridge and Thilan Samaraweera.
Also read: ICC T20 World Cup 2021 Schedule – Venue and Where to Watch
