Time up for Bracewell

The differences between England and its one-time colony New Zealand are vast, whether it be the number of daily newspapers, modes of transport, size of population, or pertinently at present, the pressure on sporting coaches.

Steve McClaren's future as England football team manager hangs by a thread on one game, the Israel-Russia Euro 2008 qualifier, which, ironically, England are not even involved in. In the meantime the New Zealand cricket coach, John Bracewell, churns out one dreadful result after another, seemingly without any pressure or accountability.

Watching New Zealand's batsmen crumble once more at Centurion was just too much to take. Bracewell has now had four years in the job and has produced very little by way of results. Over two Test series in South Africa, separated by 18 months, we have seen the same scenario time and time again: New Zealand being found horribly wanting by pace bowling.

There comes a time for change and in Bracewell's case surely that time is now, particularly with back-to-back Test series (home and away) against England next year. The last time the teams met in 2004, New Zealand lost the three Tests at Lord's, Headingley and Trent Bridge, each time from a position of strength. Very little has changed since and it has not just been a matter of the away form highlighted by S Rajesh.

There have been wins at Dhaka and Chittagong, four losses in the next five Tests (all against Australia), a 1-0 series win at home against Sri Lanka, a 2-0 result in Zimbabwe, a 2-0 victory in New Zealand against the West Indies, a 0-2 loss in South Africa, a drawn home series against Sri Lanka, and now another towelling in the making against the rampant South Africans.

Overall, the ledger is square: eight wins and eight losses. The problem is that the wins have come against lower-ranked sides, which leaves New Zealand currently floundering in sixth place in the ICC Test rankings. As coach, it is surely time for Bracewell to be held responsible for this predicament. Regrettably, Justin Vaughan, the recently appointed New Zealand Cricket (NZC) CEO, has not bold been enough to cut Bracewell loose.

After the World Cup, Vaughan spotted that Bracewell had the final say on the four-man selection panel. Fortunately this situation was promptly corrected. The problem is that Bracewell's influence does not end with selection. He is also the coach, charged with fine-tuning player performance and keeping them motivated.

Bracewell has recently acquired specialist coaches to assist, including the Australian Mark O'Neill as batting coach. Vaughan said this week that O'Neill had to be given time to prove himself. This, however, avoids the real issue, which is not O'Neill: Bracewell has overseen New Zealand's dire run of form, and what's more, there is a ready-made replacement available in John Wright, who is now on the NZC staff. Now Vaughan has stated that he doesn't want Wright stepping on O'Neill's toes.

So what we have is an under-performing team with a slightly-tweaked coaching arrangement. This messy situation is all of NZC's making. Getting rid of Bracewell is the obvious answer, and there is a widespread belief in New Zealand that this is well overdue. Inevitably though, there will be plenty more pain before it becomes a reality, while the no-pressure situation for Bracewell remains.