Christchurch, Aug 8 (IANS) New Zealand Cricket’s long-serving high-performance coach Bob Carter will be stepping away from his role of 21 years, New Zealand Cricket said on Friday.
Formerly a player and then director of cricket for the English county Northamptonshire, Carter’s tenure at NZC filled roles as the assistant to John Bracewell’s 2004-2009 BlackCaps, the assistant to Mike Hesson’s 2012-14 (men’s team), and the women’s team head coach ahead of, and during, the 2022 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand.
“The man who joined NZC as the assistant BlackCaps coach in 2004 is poised to depart the organisation’s high-performance centre in Lincoln some 21 years later, having been heavily involved in the evolution of both the national men’s and women’s games,” NZC said in a statement.
Carter said that, after two decades at Lincoln it was time for a change, and he was looking forward to continuing his work in cricket as an independent contractor.
“I feel like I’ve lived the dream,” he said, reflecting on the teams and players he’d worked with over the past twenty years. “I’ve very much enjoyed offering support and contributing and, if that’s helped players or teams go on and achieve success, then that’s terrific – I’m delighted.
“But I think what’s worked best at NZC has been the combinations, the teamwork, and the cooperation. We’ve been able to create sides that have been greater than their sum of parts, and that’s a key ingredient in team sport. Sure, the individual performance is important, but it’s the collective that has the greater potential. That’s where the magic is.”
Carter said he was pleased to be leaving NZC at a time when the national teams were in good heart, and when the high-performance systems were producing encouraging results.
“It’s true that the game has evolved a great deal over the past twenty years. But the flipside is that the basics and fundamentals of batting and bowling have never really changed. Sure, the batters are playing shots we wouldn’t have dreamed of in the nineties, and the bowlers are producing options and change-ups with an incredible degree of difficulty. But within all that, the framework that allows the players to execute so successfully, is still the same as it was 50 years ago,” said Carter.
NZC Chief High Performance Officer Daryl Gibson said the organisation was grateful for Carter’s long-service and expertise.
“Bob has been the voice of experience at Lincoln and has been involved in much of the success we’ve seen in the men’s and women’s games over the past decade or more. He’s part of a wider high-performance team that underpinned and supported one of New Zealand cricket’s golden periods – the legacy he leaves in terms of his contribution to NZC is enormous.
Gibson said he looked forward to seeing Carter in and around cricket. “Bob’s a much-loved part of the cricket family and he carries massive respect wherever he goes. His mahi and passion for the game are undiminished and we wish him and his family well.”
–IANS
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