Bob Carter steps down as New Zealand Cricket high-performance coach after 21 years

Former New Zealand Women's head coach Bob Carter is stepping away from his role as New Zealand Cricket's (NZC) high-performance coach, bringing to a close a 21-year career in which he played a central role in the development of both the men's and women's national sides.

"I feel like I've lived the dream," Carter said in an NZC statement. "I've very much enjoyed offering support and contributing and, if that's helped players or teams go on and achieve success, then that's terrific - I'm delighted. "But I think what's worked best at NZC has been the combinations, the teamwork, and the cooperation."

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Born in Norfolk, Carter played 60 first-class and 55 List A matches for Northamptonshire and Canterbury before moving into coaching. He first joined the New Zealand men's set-up in 2004 as assistant coach to John Bracewell, serving for five years. He returned to the role from 2012 to 2014 under Mike Hesson, before succeeding Haidee Tiffen as New Zealand Women's head coach in 2019.

Carter led the White Ferns at the 2020 T20 World Cup and the 2022 ODI World Cup on home soil, stepping down later that year but continuing in the high-performance role based in Lincoln.

"We've been able to create sides that have been greater than the sum of their parts, and that's a key ingredient in team sport," said Carter, who will continue working in cricket as an independent contractor. "Sure, the individual performance is important, but it's the collective that has the greater potential. That's where the magic is."

Carter, 65, leaves with New Zealand cricket in a strong position. The women's team won their maiden T20 World Cup last year, while the men's side completed a historic Test series whitewash over India in India - the first team to do so since 2012.

"It's true that the game has evolved a great deal over the past 20 years," Carter reflected. "But the basics and fundamentals of batting and bowling have never really changed.

"Sure, the batters are playing shots we wouldn't have dreamed of in the nineties, and the bowlers are producing options and change-ups with an incredible degree of difficulty. But within all that, the framework that allows the players to execute so successfully is still the same as it was 50 years ago.

"Our domestic cricket is very strong. I'm not sure that's widely recognised. The reason the Black Caps have continued to produce great batters and bowlers is because we have a strong, underlying domestic system. The White Ferns have been in transition over the past couple of years, but the domestic competitions have brought new players through and invigorated the established ones."

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