New Zealand coaching situation - Greatbatch steps in as NZ coach

[Howsie]

Well according to cricinfo he's confirmed he's in talks with New Zealand cricket.

Maybe he just doesn't want to break Gilly's heart

 

[Ari]

I am starting to set myself up for disappointment Greatbatch will probably get it.

Jeff Crowe has been mentioned in a cricinfo article its the first time i've heard his name thrown in the ring for it.

 

[Robelinda]

Lehmann was on the radio this afternoon saying he wasnt serious about the job, but had been talking with NZ cricket anyway. He did say he wouldnt disrespect his IPL team.

 

[Howsie]

I am starting to set myself up for disappointment Greatbatch will probably get it.

Jeff Crowe has been mentioned in a cricinfo article its the first time i've heard his name thrown in the ring for it.

What's with the Greatbatch hate again?

 

[-D-S-B-]

I am starting to set myself up for disappointment Greatbatch will probably get it.

Think positive please
Greatbatch would be a step back not forward, Lehmann is the type of guy we need. Fleming would be good, but that's not happening, maybe a while down the track though.

 

[Ari]

What's with the Greatbatch hate again?

I had a small outburst in the Bangladesh tour thread you can check it out there.

Or the short story is: He's clueless

 

[Ari]

New Zealand Cricket - New Zealand Cricket announce BLACKCAPS coach

Greatbatch got it........

 

[Robelinda]

Wow, we'll see how that goes I guess.

 

[irottev]

I'm willing to give him a chance. In a way it's more or less what the coaching has been like the last 6 months anyway. He's been close to the players, they obviously like him if he got the job, so yeah.

 

[nz0003]

Pretty disappointed. Was hoping Boof would get it.

 

[Howsie]

Is the New Zealand job that undesirable that we can't even attract a half way decent coach? I read this on another site this morning about his time at Warwickshire from 2006 to 2007.

He was essentially over promoted. He'd been coaching at a school when the academy job became available at Warwickshire. He did that for 6 months, then got the Director of Cricket job in controversial circumstances - Warwickshire set up a commitee of 4 without working out that this meant there could be a tied vote. There was a tied vote, Tim Munton, as Chairman of the Cricket Commitee, used to his casting vote to appoint Andy Moles - only to be told he didn't have a casting vote as Chairman. The Club Chairman - an accountant not a cricket man - then came back from holiday and, presumably influenced by Amiss, gave Greatbatch the job. Moles would have been far more popular and had lined up Brett Lee and one other big name to join - so the fans were against Mark from day one.

Quite right for the wrong reasons, as it turned out.

He was pretty hopeless from the start. He should have gone at the end of his first season (2006) when Alex Loudon led a delegation of players who wanted to report him to the PCA for his bullying style of management. Instead the club kept him, sent him on a variety of management courses - but he didn't change. Indeed he got worse during his second season as the pressure of impending relegation made him crabbier and crabbier, particularly with the local press with whom he had virtually no relationship at the end. When he left we had suffered double relegation as well as the long term damage of losing good players like Mark Wagh, Moeen Ali and Alex Loudon - whose departures were all directly linked to the antics of this man.

Specific critisisms would be:

1. He couldn't judge a player. For example, he always thought Ian Westwood was better than Mark Wagh. He made no effort at all to keep Graham Wagg.

2. He was a bully. He's a big bloke, Mark Greatbatch, and an intimidating presence. I can remember in his first season a young player, since released, telling me how much he disliked playing in the first team under Batch because the environment was so stressed.

3. He bore grudges. There was an incident at Scarborough in 2006 when he got the team together to ask what was wrong. Nick Knight was meant to say something but leapt straight onto that fence he carries around with him to this day - so Dougie Brown stepped in and said "Batch, the big problem is you". Disgracefully, Brown only ever played two more games for Warwickshire and I dont think Batch talks to him even now - 4 years later - even though Dougie is married to his sister in law.

4. He had no man management skills. Moeen Ali, a real talent with the bat, made his debut as an emergency off spinner at Trent Bridge, scored a beautiful 50, but was immediately dropped because he hadn't taken any wickets (he's not a bowler anyway). Batch told him not to worry as he could see him as "a first team regular within 5 years". Possibly not what a young man already grumbling about not being in the first team wanted to hear? A month later he signed for Worcs.

5. He simply couldn't deal with pressure. The classic example was our last game of 2007 at Old Trafford where we had to win to stay up. Before play he gathered the team for a motivational speech.

And burst into tears.

Above all, he was simply a bad coach. I think it would be hard to argue that a single Warwickshire player improved in Batch's two years. Indeed many regressed.

I wish you luck with him. Hopefully what happened at Warwickshire was down to the stress of him being in a job he really wasn't qualified for at that stage

Andy Moles all over again?

 

[Ari]

Sounds like another great choice by NZC. :sarcasm

Point one was already very clear since he has been a selector the rest I can easily see as being true with someone like Greatbatch.

The only reason he was picked is because NZ have done well in the last few months and they want to continue with that sort of style. The problem is most of that time we have only been playing a piss poor Pakistan team.

The team needed a culture change because once we face some harder teams it will be the same old story all over again. I am willing to bet after the next world cup we will be looking for a new coach and probably a new CEO as well.

 

[drainpipe32]

Pretty disappointed. Was hoping Boof would get it.

He was taken.