Aberhart gets nod as New Zealand coach

Former Otago and Canterbury coach Denis Aberhart was named as the new coach of the New Zealand team on Thursday.

Aberhart replaces David Trist, who completes his two-year term at the end of the tri-series one-day tournament in Sri Lanka next month.

The 48-year-old primary school principal from Christchurch has been given a two-year term and his first assignment will be to lead New Zealand on their tour of Pakistan in mid-September.

New Zealand will then tour Australia and host visits by Bangladesh and England.

The appointment ended a lengthy search by New Zealand Cricket to find a replacement for Trist, with several prospective national coaches turning the job down.

Among these were India coach John Wright, a former New Zealand opener, and former off-spinner John Bracewell.

Both are enjoying successful tenures of India and English county side Gloucestershire respectively.

Former Worcestershire and New Zealand all-rounder Dipak Patel also pulled out of the running, citing the terms of employment and hinting that new powers apparently given to captain Stephen Fleming had effectively made the coach a backroom worker.

NZC operations manager John Reid reacted to adverse media comment on the management structure of the national team by saying the manager, Jeff Crowe, was ultimately the leader of the side but at an operational level the coach and captain were equal partners, with all three being equally accessible to the media.

Aberhart is a qualified Level Three coach and is best known for leading Canterbury during a period of unprecedented success from 1993 to 1997.

He is a former right-arm medium pace seamer who claimed 101 first class wickets for Central Districts and Canterbury.

Mail Cricket Editor