New Zealand cricket team coach John Wright has cited philosophical differences with Australian John Buchanan as a factor in his decision to step down when his contract expires.
Wright, who took over in December 2010, has turned down a contract extension through to the 2015 World Cup and will leave after the tour of the West Indies in July-August.
He admitted he has not seen eye to eye with Buchanan over planning the former Australian team mentor wants to introduce in his role as New Zealand director of cricket.
“I appreciate the offer to extend my contract but, after much consideration, I feel it’s the right time to move on and look at other opportunities,” Wright said on Tuesday.
But Wright added: “Also, I think during the review process with the current cricket director, we both agreed that the planning systems he wanted to implement probably don’t complement the style and the way I coach.
“That was another factor. That’s part of sport.”
Buchanan was appointed in April 2011 to his present role of running NZC’s high performance program through to the World Cup to be staged in Australia and New Zealand.
Asked what the specific points of conflict were, Wright, a former Test opening batsman who also coached India, said it was “just a difference of style”.
“We see things a little differently and I suppose it would be fair to say we were probably more comfortable coaching against each other, which we did for four-and-a-half years.”
He described as “hypothetical” a question about whether he would have stayed on if Buchanan weren’t director of cricket.
As for what the “other opportunities” were that he would pursue, he said he hadn’t thought that far ahead.
“I’ve still got a few months in this job – and who knows?”
Wright’s time as New Zealand coach has been marked by two notable achievements by the Blacks Caps – making the semi-finals of the 2011 World Cup and securing a notable Test win over Australia in Hobart.