Black Caps coach Rob Walter Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Some South African "steel" mixed with relationship building is how new Black Caps coach Rob Walter will approach the role.
Walter has been appointed to replace Gary Stead on a contract that ends after the T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted in New Zealand and Australia in late 2028.
"New Zealand have been playing very good cricket for a long period of time now so I don't see my job as coming in to change things significantly I just see it as adding some strengths and some small little additions here and there," Walter said.
The unknown
Walter had no say in the 20 players centrally contracted for the upcoming season or who his support staff are.
He has not yet spoken to the players like Kane Williamson who are negotiating casual playing contracts.
Walter has not worked with any of the assistant coaches before, whose contracts carry over from former coach Stead's time in charge, but is looking forward to connecting with them.
"The reality of it is that those coaches are highly regarded by the players. All the conversations that I've had have been really positive around the support staff and the role that they play, so for me it's actually about getting to work with them and getting to understand how they operate and all that's important right now is that can we find our feet together."
In appointing the 49-year-old, New Zealand Cricket board member Roger Twose said Walter's South African "steel" and "interpersonal skills" stood out from the other applicants.
"My philosophy on coaching is based on relationships," Walter said.
"I think there can be no better or more privileged position to be in than to develop a relationship with a player, see how they work their way through the problem solving element of cricket and find their way onto the other side, and just be able to walk that part of the journey is ultimately why we do the game.
"The wins are great and all of that sort of stuff but to see personal progress and to understand what goes into progressing in the game of cricket and then being part of the journey is everything.
"Very often cricket can be heavy and international cricket there's a lot of pressure in that space, so finding a way to allow the players to really enjoy the journey is important because it makes them better people but better cricketers as well."
One coach, three formats
Walter is unfazed by the commitment it takes to coach the ODI, T20 and test teams.
Stead had previously encouraged New Zealand Cricket (NZC) to consider splitting the coaching role to lessen the load but NZC wanted one man to take control of all three formats.
Walter had coached South Africa's white ball teams since 2023 before stepping down this year due to personal reasons.
His family, wife Heather and two sons, live in the Hawke's Bay and they were in New Zealand while he was on duty with South Africa.
"I'm more excited about being back involved in Test cricket to be honest. The family are aware [of the commitment] I've spent the last two and a half years dealing with international cricket and a lot of travel and they love being part of it so I don't think that'll change.
"I'm a purist as well so Test cricket has always been important to me, love that format of the game and certainly agree with Kane in saying that it is the soul of cricket."
Twose said Walter's nine years in New Zealand were "material" to the appointments panel.
"He was a very strong understanding of the New Zealand cricket system and in fact coached many of the players that are in the Black Caps today."
Players had given good feedback on Walter and his planning, Twose said.
Domestic cricket "underrated"
Central Stags coach Rob Walter. Photo: BLAKE ARMSTRONG / PHOTOSPORT
Walter has had success with two different major associations in New Zealand.
He coached the Central Stags to two pieces of silverware - Ford Trophy and Plunket Shield - in the 2022/23 season. He also guided the Otago Volts to white ball finals in the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons.
Walter is clear about the links between the domestic and international programme.
"[Domestic cricket] is critically important to the success of the main team, the national side, so to maintain strong relationships, understand what's happening below us, how we can potentially assist that process is critical.
"You can't see the national side's results as separate to what's actually happening on the ground and so we have to acknowledge that things are going well there.
"The domestic programme I think is pretty strong. It's probably underrated in terms of its strength and we see that because guys come into the international fray having only played domestic cricket and do really well."
Walter believes the pathway for players aspiring to be Black Caps is "probably better than ever before".
"I think there is a real strong collaboration in New Zealand [between the major associations and the Black Caps] because we understand it's a small country and the resources are limited in comparison so we have to make sure that we utilize everything that we have and every little edge that we have. And part of that edge is actually being small so it doesn't take a long time for information to cross paths and so we just want to build on that."
With many established Black Caps opting to take up overseas franchise contracts the next tier of talent are getting a go - something that Walter sees as being good for the future of the national team.
"If you're a young cricketer in the environment there's a lot to be excited about.
"I think they've already proven themselves. The Pakistan series had a lot of younger players involved and they did exceptionally well in that series.
"So the depth is there, there's no doubt depth will be challenged.
"I think that's the nature of international cricket at the moment especially for countries like New Zealand, there's a draw card for players to play in the [overseas] leagues and so being able to manage that is a challenge, but I think New Zealand has done it well so far."
Walter coached the New Zealand A team in 2022 and had previously been an assistant coach in the Indian Premier League with the Pune Warriors and Delhi Daredevils.
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