Luke Ronchi, former New Zealand wicketkeeper has been named as the new Batting coach of New Zealand. Ronchi was part of the New Zealand coaching staff at last year’s ICC World Cup in England and was confirmed Wednesday as New Zealand’s fulltime batting coach, taking over from Peter Fulton. “I’m absolutely pumped,” he said. “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 honor and I’m looking forward to seeing how I can help improve their games and best prepare them to perform at the highest level.” Ronchi was born in New Zealand but first played international cricket for Australia, appearing in four one-day and three Twenty20 internationals in 2008. Ronchi was part of the New Zealand coaching staff at last year’s ICC World Cup in England and was confirmed as New Zealand’s full-time batting coach on Wednesday, taking over from Peter Fulton. Bryan Stronach, NZC’s general manager of high performance, said that Ronchi had received good feedback when he had previously worked with the players and there was the added advantage of his wicketkeeping knowledge. “Luke’s got a very good cricket brain and is especially strong tactically,” he said. “He has a positive mindset and is good at building relationships but he’s also not afraid to challenge people which is a really important aspect of coaching. “The feedback we got from the players and team support staff at last year’s World Cup in particular was very positive and I know he’s looking forward to continuing his work with the team this summer. There’s no doubt that, alongside the batsmen, our wicketkeepers will also benefit from having Luke around.”
New Zealand’s home season will start with T20Is against West Indies at the end of November followed by two Tests. Pakistan then visit for T20Is and Test matches with Australia and Bangladesh slated to tour next year although those series are still awaiting government approval.