Former player Luke Ronchi has been appointed by New Zealand Cricket as their new batting coach for the upcoming summer.
Last July, New Zealand’s batting coach Peter Fulton stepped down from his role. Today, former wicketkeeper-batsman Luke Ronchi has been appointed to take over this vacated post. With that, he will serve as the team’s new batting coach for the upcoming summer. Having accepted the role, he will be working alongside head coach Gary Stead and bowling coach Shane Jurgensen.
Talking about his new position, Ronchi says, ‘I'm absolutely pumped. I've really enjoyed being back with the team in recent seasons and it's exciting to be given the opportunity full-time this summer’.
‘Getting the chance to continue working with our batsmen is a great honour and I'm looking forward to seeing how I can help improve their games and best prepare them to perform at the highest level. It'll be great to sit down with Gary (Stead) and the other coaches to begin planning for what will be a busy summer with four touring teams who will all bring different challenges’, he added.
Ronchi ended his playing career back in 2017. After then, he has been involved with Cricket Wellington’s development programs. Aside from that, he also worked as a player and assistant coach in Islamabad United in this year’s season of Pakistan Super League.
One of NZ’s players, Ross Taylor, also stated that he believes that Ronchi is perfect for the role as he had the right credentials to fit the role of a batting coach. He also said that it was nice to work with Ronchi again and that he looks forward to working with him as their coach. Aside from that, he also commended his great experience in playing and coaching which he believes to be helpful for their team.
The 39-year-old coach has played 4 Tests, 85 ODIs, and 33 T20Is. With his experience, he will start to coach the men’s team in two weeks time. To further understand how cricket is played, visit Betwala.
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