Former England cricketers Ian Bell and James Foster are among the high-quality professionals, who will join the New Zealand coaching setup on the away tours starting from the England series on August 30. The former Blackcaps skipper Stephen Fleming is likely to accompany the team during the ODI series in England.
New Zealand is on the road in preparation for the ODI World Cup later this year, as they will be playing four match T20 and ODI series against the Jos Buttler-led side in the next month followed by three-match ODI series against Bangladesh to adapt themselves to the Sub-continental conditions and the team is looking at add some experienced professional in the coaching setup to prepare them for the mega event in India.
According to the reports in Cricbuzz, New Zealand team manager Simon Insley said that it is important to manage the workload of both players and coach these days and revealed that there wanted to ensure that everyone gets an adequate amount of rest going into long away tours and elated to welcome the high-quality coaches to assist them during the various tour starting with England series.
“The well-being of our players and staff is of vital importance with the sheer amount of cricket being played these days, Following the T20 team’s departure to the UAE (Aug 12), the team will be on the road right through until December 16 when the Test team returns, ahead of a busy home summer”.
“That period of time playing, working, and simply being away from home is not sustainable and we’ve worked really hard this winter to ensure everyone from players to staff will receive adequate rest.”
“We’re delighted with the calibre of coaches we’ve been able to confirm to assist the Black Caps on the various tours. New voices don’t just freshen things up for the players but they also bring new ideas and energy to the whole group which is especially important on away tours”.
Former England cricketer Ian Bell is set to assist the team during the four-match T20 series taking up the role of batting coach in the team and another cricketer James Foster is likely to accompany the team for the ODI World Cup in India alongside Gary Stead and assisted by Luke Ronchi, Shane Jurgensen.
Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming might join the team during the ODI series in England to pass on his knowledge of the game to youngsters in the New Zealand team ahead of the marquee event and former Pakistan cricketer Saqlain Mushtaq to assist the team during the Bangladesh tour right after the ODI World Cup.