New Zealand have spruced up their support staff in the lead-up to the 2023 ODI World Cup, with Stephen Fleming and James Foster set to join the set-up. Ian Bell and Saqlain Mushtaq will also be among a rotating cast of New Zealand's coaching staff over the next four months away from home.
The appointments of Fleming and Foster are particularly significant as both bring with them IPL experience. Fleming comes on board with a decorated IPL CV - he has coached Chennai Super Kings to five titles in the league. Fleming had previously worked with New Zealand in the lead-up to the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE. He is currently coaching Southern Brave in the men's Hundred and will then link up with the New Zealand team for the ODI series against England, which begins on September 8, three days after the end of the T20I series.
"I think Flem will be great for players on that side of it and also good for the staff as well," New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said. "He's got [an] immense amount of knowledge in that part of the world [India] and has coached in the IPL right from the start of the competition [from 2009], so he's coached in all those areas where we're going to play in. So, it might just be the little one-two percenters you can get from that information that could tip the results on your side as well. If things go well you can pick up on some of those small things."
As for Foster, he has worked with Kolkata Knight Riders as a fielding coach and assistant coach in the IPL. He is also a well-traveled coach, having had stints in the PSL, CPL, BPL, BBL and ILT20. He had previously assisted New Zealand in the Emirates in 2018. Foster will be New Zealand's assistant coach for the England ODI series and will also be part of their coaching staff for the ODI World Cup in India.
"James spent a week with us in the UAE, think about four or five years ago when he was over there," Stead said. "He might have even been playing at the time. But it's great that he has come back. He will come to the World Cup; he's got a lot of experience in the IPL with the KKR side and in an assistant coach role there he's worked with video analysts, so will give us a lot of, I think, information and knowledge for us to consider when we approach all the different venues in the World Cup."
Ian Bell to fill in for Luke Ronchi
Former England batter Bell has been appointed as New Zealand's assistant coach for the upcoming T20I series against England. He will then fill in for Luke Ronchi as the batting coach for the following ODI series against England. Ronchi will then return to take charge of the side for the three-match ODI series in Bangladesh in September - New Zealand's last ODI assignment before the World Cup - allowing Stead a short break. Bell will assist Ronchi and bowling coach Shane Jurgensen during the ODIs in Bangladesh. Bell is currently an assistant coach at Birmingham Phoenix in the men's Hundred.
"The well-being of our players and staff is of vital importance with the sheer amount of cricket being played these days," New Zealand manager Simon Insley said.
"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."
Saqlain to rejoin NZ support staff
Stead will also take a break for the Test leg of the Bangladesh tour, which begins on November 23, with a two-day practice game, just four days after the World Cup final on November 19. Former Pakistan spinner Saqlain will rejoin the side for that Test tour, having previously worked with the white-ball sides during the Pakistan tour in April. He has been appointed as spin coach. The Test tour of Bangladesh will likely be the first task for the new bowling coach, with Jurgensen taking up the role as head coach at Wellington after the World Cup. He is set to work with Wellington from November 22, 2023 to April 2027.
"Saqi is a great human being," Stead said. "He has had experience with our guys in Pakistan and knows about spin-bowling stocks and has certainly added to that area of the game. He's just got great knowledge. As a player himself, he was superb; he was a Test player. And going to Bangladesh, he will certainly add some skills and add some expertise in the spin-bowling area, which isn't always an area that we cover all the time."