New Zealand coach Stead’s future in doubt after WC exit

WELLINGTON: New Zealand head coach Gary Stead admitted Friday his future was out of his hands as the Black Caps were dumped out of the Twenty20 World Cup in the group phase.

Back-to-back defeats in their opening games have left New Zealand bottom of their group and unable to reach the knock-out stages of the tournament, hosted by the United States and the West Indies. Stead, who took over as New Zealand coach in 2018 and led them to the 2021 final, has a year left on his contract.

Speaking prior to Afghanistan´s win over Papua New Guinea, which confirmed New Zealand´s exit, Stead deflected the question when asked if he was still the right person to lead the Black Caps.

“That´s a question you should be asking other people,” the 52-year-old told Radio New Zealand. “I can look at myself in the mirror and know that the preparation we tried to put in place has been as good as (possible).”

New Zealand never got going at the World Cup. They suffered a 13-run loss to the West Indies in Trinidad having already slipped to a shock first-ever defeat against Afghanistan in their opening game.