Paddy picked but Dan's the man on-field

BY MICHAEL DONALDSON

If push comes to shove, New Zealand cricket captain Daniel Vettori will have the final say over new coach Mark Greatbatch over on-field matters.

In announcing Greatbatch's widely predicted appointment to the top job, New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan said the former opener and Vettori would "complement" each other.

But when asked who was the boss, Vaughan said: "It depends on the circumstances. If it's an issue to do with on-field performance or an on-field decision, it's Dan. If it's to do with a coaching issue, it's Mark."

Vaughan's comment confirms Vettori's status as the top dog in the Black Caps environment, with Vaughan adding Vettori had substantial input into the coaching appointment.

"We are so fortunate to have a captain of Dan's calibre and to not have his endorsement of a new coach would be crazy."

For those who fear too much power rests with the players – given it was negative player reviews that resulted in Andy Moles' resignation from the role – Vaughan was blunt.

"We have to put a lot of faith in Dan, if you don't, you hamstring him. We've got to trust and respect our players, particularly our captain, and work with them rather than impose structures or people upon them.

"We're not working with an authoritarian model here."

One of the reasons Greatbatch was elevated to the role of coach was the way he performed as a selector.

"The relationship between a selector and the players can be a difficult one," Vaughan said. "But since Mark has become a selector we've heard only positive things about his ability to communicate with the players and his honesty."

In the wake of Moles' resignation, Greatbatch accompanied the team to the Middle East for the series against Pakistan late last year where he was a batting coach and "sounding-board" for Vettori.

That worked so well, NZ Cricket approached the man known as "Paddy" and asked him if he wanted the big job, even though Greatbatch had not applied for the vacancy.

"I took a little while to make a decision, but not too long," Greatbatch told the Star-Times.

In his favour, apart from his relationship with the players, was that NZ Cricket knew what it was getting, which wasn't the case when it appointed Moles.

"Really, all the risk has been eliminated. Because he's been with the team we know exactly what we're getting," Vaughan said.

Greatbatch has had a long but occasionally interrupted coaching career, having worked with age-group teams, Central Districts and Warwickshire, which he left two years into a three-year contract after the team plummeted out of the county championship.

At the time Greatbatch was bagged in the local press for promoting "unattractive" cricket "alienating senior players".

Greatbatch said he had learned from all those experiences to transform himself into a better coach.

"Warwickshire was a good learning experience," Greatbatch said.

"I did some good things there but the results didn't go our way.

"But you learn from that, you learn to listen more."

Greatbatch secured the coaching position ahead of contenders who included his former team-mate John Wright, the current high performance manager for NZ Cricket.

"John Wright was supportive of me taking this position.

"He said `Mate, if you want to do this I'll support you.' And I said the same thing to him."

Greatbatch said one of his big tasks will be getting the best out of wild child Jesse Ryder.

"I was lucky enough to be involved with Jesse as a 15- or 16-year-old in the Hawke's Bay and I know a lot about his background.

"It's a big challenge with Jesse but I like to think I have a good relationship with him – we've had good times and tough times."

New Zealand starts a series against Bangladesh with a Twenty20 match in Hamilton on Wednesday followed by a one-dayer in Napier on Friday.

- © Fairfax NZ News