Former BLACKCAP and Wellington Firebird Luke Ronchi has been appointed BLACKCAPS batting coach for the coming summer, replacing the post left vacant by Peter Fulton in July.

The 122-capped International has worked with the team regularly over the past two years including the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup campaign in England and Wales.

Ronchi said he couldn’t wait to get started in two weeks time.

“I’m absolutely pumped,” he enthused.

“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 and the other coaches to begin planning for what will be a busy summer with four touring teams who will all bring different challenges.”

NZC GM High Performance Cricket Bryan Stronach said Ronchi’s broad skill-set and past experiences with the team helped secure the job.

“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 wicket-keepers will also benefit from having Luke around.”

Ross Taylor, New Zealand’s all-time leading runs scorer, said Ronchi had the right credentials to succeed in the role.

“It’s been great to have Luke back with the group in recent years and I’m personally really looking forward to working with him as batting coach.

“He’s obviously got great experience from playing and coaching around the world and I know he will bring plenty of his own ideas to the table.

“He’s got a calm demeanour and already possesses many strong relationships within the group.”

Since finishing his playing career with the BLACKCAPS in 2017, Ronchi has been involved with Cricket Wellington’s development programmes and was also a player-coach with Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League earlier this year.

Alongside his nine-year international career which featured seven games for Australia from 2008 to 2009, the Dannevirke-born 39-year-old also played 157 games for Western Australia, before moving to New Zealand to play for Wellington in 2012.

In total, he played 372 domestic matches for 11 different teams in leagues from England, India, the West Indies, Pakistan and Bangladesh. 

Ronchi finished his career with 16 First-Class centuries and 796 dismissals in all formats.

Article added: Wednesday 04 November 2020