Seven-year Stead reign over as Black Caps coach
Gary Stead will stand down as Black Caps coach at the end of June, bringing to an end a highly successful seven-year reign that included the capture of the inaugural World Test Championship title.
The 53-year-old stood down as coach of the country's white-ball teams in April and his desire to spend less time on tour ultimately did not marry with New Zealand Cricket's aspiration to have one coach across all formats.
"There's been some amazing memories over the past seven years based around a group of fantastic and talented people who have gone out to give their best for their country," he said in a NZC statement on Wednesday.
"It's been nice to be competitive across all three formats and I'd like to think that regardless of results, the opposition know the Black Caps are a team that won't fold."
Stead said the World Test Championship triumph in 2021 and New Zealand's 3-0 sweep of India on the subcontinent last year were the highlights of his time in charge.
New Zealand also finished as runners-up on boundary countback at the 2019 50-overs World Cup, runners-up at the 2021 Twenty20 World Cup as well as at the Champions Trophy earlier this year.
The Black Caps topped the Test and ODI rankings and reached the semi-finals at two other white-ball World Cups during his time in charge.
"For a country with five million people and limited resources, we comparatively perform outstandingly well against the other powerhouses of the game," Stead added.
Producing consistent performances over such a lengthy period rested in some part on Stead's ability to refresh the squad with young players as generational talents retired or spent lengthy periods on the sidelines with injury.
"There was no one more hardworking and passionate about seeing the Black Caps grow and succeed," former Black Caps captain Kane Williamson said.
"He was always thorough in his planning and preparation and will go down as one of our best coaches, but an even better bloke."
NZC have already started the search for the successor and Stead said he would take some time to recharge before seeking out another challenge.
"I still have the coaching bug and will look to explore opportunities at home and abroad where I can look to share what I've learned from my 30 years of professional sport as a player and coach," he said.
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Meninga has helped restore the Australian team to the top of the international game, while the rise of Tonga and Samoa has left the Kangaroos increasingly fighting for players. "The Kangaroos job is a full-time job, it's not just coaching the team, there's a couple of other commitments," Meninga said. "From a transition point of view I'll hopefully be a part of all that. "I have loved the opportunity to coach the Australian team and build the international program. "I'm satisfied with the job I did with the national program, I'm really comfortable with the fact that I'm moving on."
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8 hours ago
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Popovic delivers special message after Japan success
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Australia all but locked in a spot for the 2026 World Cup after Aziz Behich's 90th-minute stunner lifted the Socceroos to a 1-0 win over Japan in Perth on Thursday night. The 'all but' quantifier comes due to the fact Saudi Arabia are technically still in the hunt to steal the Socceroos' automatic qualifier spot. The Saudis (13 points) kept their hopes alive by beating Bahrain 2-0 just hours after the Socceroos' win. Australia (16 points, plus eight goal difference) are still well and truly in the box seat. But if Saudi Arabia (13 points, zero goal difference) beat the Socceroos by five goals or more in Jeddah next Tuesday in the final match of the current qualifying phase, Australia will miss out on an automatic World Cup berth. Given Saudi Arabia have scored only six goals across nine matches, that scenario is unlikely, but Popovic doesn't want to take any chances. "We need to do a job in Saudi," Popovic said. "We're in a great position, but we have to finish it off. "It's been a really intense period since I've come in, but everyone's embraced what we're aiming to do. "We're very close now to achieving our goal." Thursday night's win in front of 57,226 fans marked the Socceroos' first victory over Japan since 2009, and inflicted a first loss on the Samurai Blue since their defeat to Iran at the Asian Cup in 2023. But it was far from a pretty display by the Socceroos against what was effectively a Japanese B team. Given they had already secured their World Cup berth, Japan's starting XI against Australia featured a total of nine players with four caps or less, including three debutants. Despite that Japan dominated for almost the entire match, finishing with 69 per cent possession and creating the better chances until Behich's late heroics. Popovic was proud of his team's defensive grit and believed getting a win over Japan - albeit against a severely depleted opponent - was significant. "They (our players) know they've done something that hasn't been done for quite a while," Popovic said. "We kept a clean sheet, and we've done something that many Australian sides have found hard to do. "Japan have been on a wonderful run and there's a reason for that. "They are the best (in Asia) and we want to challenge them to be the best. "We shouldn't shy away from that and hopefully we take a big step forward knowing we can beat Japan." Socceroos defender Milos Degenek said his side wouldn't take an ultra conservative approach into the game against Saudi Arabia. "You don't go into any game thinking, 'Oh, we just don't want to lose 4-0'," Degenek said. "You go in wanting to win the game. Very simple." The Japan hoodoo is over, but Socceroos coach Tony Popovic has a stern message for his players: The job isn't done yet. Australia all but locked in a spot for the 2026 World Cup after Aziz Behich's 90th-minute stunner lifted the Socceroos to a 1-0 win over Japan in Perth on Thursday night. The 'all but' quantifier comes due to the fact Saudi Arabia are technically still in the hunt to steal the Socceroos' automatic qualifier spot. The Saudis (13 points) kept their hopes alive by beating Bahrain 2-0 just hours after the Socceroos' win. Australia (16 points, plus eight goal difference) are still well and truly in the box seat. But if Saudi Arabia (13 points, zero goal difference) beat the Socceroos by five goals or more in Jeddah next Tuesday in the final match of the current qualifying phase, Australia will miss out on an automatic World Cup berth. Given Saudi Arabia have scored only six goals across nine matches, that scenario is unlikely, but Popovic doesn't want to take any chances. "We need to do a job in Saudi," Popovic said. "We're in a great position, but we have to finish it off. "It's been a really intense period since I've come in, but everyone's embraced what we're aiming to do. "We're very close now to achieving our goal." Thursday night's win in front of 57,226 fans marked the Socceroos' first victory over Japan since 2009, and inflicted a first loss on the Samurai Blue since their defeat to Iran at the Asian Cup in 2023. But it was far from a pretty display by the Socceroos against what was effectively a Japanese B team. Given they had already secured their World Cup berth, Japan's starting XI against Australia featured a total of nine players with four caps or less, including three debutants. Despite that Japan dominated for almost the entire match, finishing with 69 per cent possession and creating the better chances until Behich's late heroics. Popovic was proud of his team's defensive grit and believed getting a win over Japan - albeit against a severely depleted opponent - was significant. "They (our players) know they've done something that hasn't been done for quite a while," Popovic said. "We kept a clean sheet, and we've done something that many Australian sides have found hard to do. "Japan have been on a wonderful run and there's a reason for that. "They are the best (in Asia) and we want to challenge them to be the best. "We shouldn't shy away from that and hopefully we take a big step forward knowing we can beat Japan." Socceroos defender Milos Degenek said his side wouldn't take an ultra conservative approach into the game against Saudi Arabia. "You don't go into any game thinking, 'Oh, we just don't want to lose 4-0'," Degenek said. "You go in wanting to win the game. Very simple."
