Kiwi Coach Gary Stead Rubbishes Claims He Wanted Kane Williamson To Be Removed As Captain

New Zealand head coach Gary Stead has rubbished claims that he wanted Kane Williamson to be sacked as the Test captain. Kane Williamson has been leading New Zealand across formats from 2016 after the retirement of his illustrious predecessor Brendon McCullum.

And while New Zealand have done well under his captaincy, reports in May suggested that there were a lot of differences between the Kiwi batting star and Gary Stead. The reports suggested that Gary Stead wanted Tom Latham to replace Williamson as the captain of the Test side.

However, the Kiwi coach has rubbished the reports. Interestingly, he did not deny the reports of differences with the captain and instead said that he has ‘philosophical differences’ with every player in the side. At the same time, Gary Stead insisted that Williamson is still the man for the job.

“There’s no truth to it,” Gary Stead was quoted as saying by newshub.co.nz. “I think I probably have philosophical differences with every single person in the team at different times, and that’s just about me being a human being and him being a human being.

“That was certainly news to me… certainly had no conversations around that sort of thing. At this stage, Kane’s our man. He’s the guy we’ve backed, he’s been a great leader for this team and I’m sure he will be in the future as well,” he added.

A Kiwi TV broadcaster in May had tweeted that Williamson captaincy was under threat as New Zealand coach preferred wicket-keeper-batsman Latham over him. The controversial tweet forced the Black Caps to issue a clarification and a team spokesperson had said at the time that Williamson will remain as captain across formats.

Stead also spoke about his relationship with Williamson, saying: “I think it’s very good. I think it’s strong. I like him as a bloke, like what he stands for. He’s a very values-based person and he adds a hell of a lot to the team.”

Kane Williamson, meanwhile, has enjoyed a fine season as captain. Last year, he led the Black Caps to the final of the World Cup. He then led New Zealand to a Test series draw and a T20I series win in Sri Lanka. In the home season, the Kiwis beat England and India to register impressive Test series wins.

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