New Zealand coach Gary Stead dismisses rumours of removing Kane Williamson as captain

Gary Stead, the New Zealand head coach, has rubbished the speculations that he tried to remove Kane Williamson as the skipper of the national team. Earlier this year, the Black Caps lost their Test series at the hands of Australia 0-3 after which it was learned that Stead wanted Tom Latham as the skipper. The Aussies won all the three games by a margin of over 200 runs.

Stead was clear cut in saying that talks of sacking Williamson didn’t take place. The coach also went on to praise the Kiwi for his contribution and said that he will stay as the captain for the time being. Back in March 2016, Kane assumed responsibility as the Black Caps’ skipper after Brendon McCullum retired from international cricket.

Kane Williamson is a values-based person, says Stead

“There’s no truth to it … that was certainly news to me… certainly had no conversations around that sort of thing,” Stead was quoted as saying by Newshub. “At this stage, Kane’s our man. He’s the guy we’ve backed, he’s been a great leader for this team and I’m sure he will be in the future as well.”

“I like him as a bloke, like what he stands for. He’s a very values-based person and he adds a hell of a lot to the team. I think I probably have philosophical differences with every single person in the team at different times, and that’s just about me being a human being and him being a human being,” the veteran stated.

On Tuesday, July 14, one year of New Zealand’s epic 2019 World Cup against England will complete. At the Lord’s Cricket Ground, the Kiwis tried their hearts out, taking the match into the Super Over and also drawing level in the one-over eliminator.

However, the boundary couldn’t rule robbed them off a victory and England won the WC for the first time. Going down the memory lane, Stead said that “there’s no bitterness” and mentioned that the game will only motivate the players to perform well into the future.

“I think there’s a wee bit of hurt from time to time and I guess any Kiwi fan is probably very much in that same boat. There’s no bitterness at all, we understood the rules going into the match,” he added.