Dean Brownlie appointed New Zealand Women's team's batting coach, Craig Howard joins as spin-bowling coach

Former New Zealand batter Dean Brownlie has joined the White Ferns’ setup as their new batting coach alongside Craig Howard, who joins the team as the spin bowling coach. Brownlie ended his playing career with the Blackcaps towards the end of the 2019-20 season, and following a stint with Northern Districts Cricket as the Network Coach, he will now join the New Zealand Women’s team.

When the Blackcaps played the Netherlands at home last summer, Brownlie was a part of the unit as the batting coach for the Kane Williamson-led side. As for his recent stint, he was a part of the Blackcaps’ coaching unit at the T20 World Cup 2022, where New Zealand ended as the semi-finalists. In his eleven-year domestic career, Brownlie, a former all-format player, played for Canterbury and Northern Districts while also representing New Zealand in 14 Tests, 16 ODIs, and five T20Is.

“This batting group has a mix of world-class players and exciting young players coming through as well, so there’s a unique playing dynamic that I hope to add value to. I’ve been fortunate to experience cricket all around the world in different conditions, and I want to be able to share my knowledge of the game to help take this batting group to the next level,” said Brownlie.

“We’ve seen recently how much the country jumps on the back of good performances at World Cups, so we want to perform well in South Africa, and that starts by planning and performing well in the upcoming series against Bangladesh,” Brownlie added.

It’s an exciting time for the side with a T20 World Cup on the horizon: Howard

The White Ferns will be hosting Bangladesh for a three-match T20I series, which will be followed by as many ODIs. As all teams prepare for the T20 World Cup 2023, which is set to be hosted by South Africa, the addition of Dean Brownlie and Craig Howard to the coaching setup will give a boost to the Sophie Devine-led side.

“It’s an exciting time for the side with a T20 World Cup on the horizon. We’ve seen recently how much the country jumps on the back of good performances at World Cups, so we want to perform well in South Africa, and that starts by planning and performing well in the upcoming series against Bangladesh,” said Howard, who will be a part of the side on a tour-by-tour basis for the home series against Bangladesh and the T20 World Cup 2023.