John Wright's role is limited

John Wright is likely to be assisting the New Zealand cricket team in their preparations for the first test against Pakistan at Dunedin – but only before the game.

Wright, who has been championed by some as the ideal coaching replacement for the sacked Andy Moles, is guiding the New Zealand Invitation XI playing the tourists in Queenstown this week.

New Zealand Cricket's chief executive, Justin Vaughan, said it seemed likely that Wright would travel on to Dunedin to lend his expertise to the batsmen in preparation for the match, as he did against the West Indies at University Oval last season.

"But there is nothing more to be read into it than that," Vaughan said.

"He will be there helping out and before the game begins he will be heading off to continue his elite coaching work."

The Press suggested that Wright could be aligned with the team during the three-test series to give both Wright and the New Zealand team the opportunity to work together. If that had proved successful it could have been expanded into a more formal arrangement.

However, Vaughan said he felt such a situation would be akin to putting a person on trial and that would not be fair.

In the meantime, Vaughan said information was being gathered from players and management in the New Zealand team who travelled to the United Arab Emirates, ahead of finalising what type of coach was required to work with the Black Caps.

"What was gratifying was that the feedback from the tour was resoundingly positive, which gave me a sense of assurance that we did not need to rush our decision."

Vaughan said discussions were well advanced about what type of coach New Zealand needed given they have a strong leader in Daniel Vettori but an inexperienced top-order batting lineup.

Vaughan hopes to have a replacement in place by February, when Bangladesh visit ahead of Australia.

"It is a matter of looking twofold, assessing what the team's needs are under the current environment and also what is sustainable into the future."

- © Fairfax NZ News