Canterbury to have new captain after five years of Gary Stead

Canterbury have decided to appoint a new captain for their State Championship and Shield sides for next summer.

They will not reappoint Gary Stead, their leader of the last five years.

The selectors felt it was time for a change, the chief executive of Canterbury Cricket, Richard Reid said today. The chairman of selectors, Craig Thiele had approached him with the recommendation and it had been endorsed by the board of Canterbury Cricket.

It is a bold move as Stead has been a significant factor in holding together a Canterbury side that has struggled over the last few seasons to maintain the dominance they achieved during the 1990s in New Zealand cricket, a period when they practically ruled the domestic one-day competition especially.

Stead, who played a year of international cricket for New Zealand, also had the difficult job of providing a solid backbone for the side which contributed so many players to the New Zealand side.

Stephen Fleming, Chris Cairns, Nathan Astle, Craig McMillan and Chris Harris over a long period of time, and Shane Bond and Chris Martin more recently, have left significant holes in the Canterbury side when called for international duty.

That has made life difficult for Stead as he has tried to lead a side to maintain the competitive levels achieved when the internationals were playing.

Reid commented further: "All reviews of the previous season have now been completed and this was a recommendation that came out of those reviews."

Thiele said the decision to replace Stead as captain did not suggest that he was not in consideration as a player for the future.

"We see Gary as an integral part of our plans for this upcoming season and beyond. We certainly recognise and value the contribution he has made, particularly in leading the side to two Shell Cup titles over his time as captain.

"It was the unanimous point of view, from the selectors, that it was simply time for a change. There are two or three possible candidates for the captaincy at this stage. We see that it is important to get the best person for the position and to that end we will not be naming a captain until later in the year."