SPORTThursday 16 August 2018

PAGE | 22 PAGE | 22Federer advances as Serena knocked out

in Cincinnati

CL title not vital for Man City success,says De Bruyne

Champion Qatari players celebrate after defeating Iran in the final of the AVC Cup Tournament in Taipei, Chinese Taipei yesterday.

Asian Games: Qatar face tough Uzbekistan test FAWAD HUSSAIN THE PENINSULA

DOHA: After a draw against Thailand in their opening match, Qatar will face AFC U-23 champions Uzbekistan today in their second group B football clash at the Asian Games at Pakan Sari Stadium in Bogor, Indonesia.

Qatar played out a 1-1 draw against Thailand on Tuesday with midfielder Hazem Shehata scoring for Al Anabi.

It will be the toughest match for Qatar in the group stage as Uzbeks, who are one of the

main contenders for gold medal, have shown out-

standing form in their opening game.

They defeated Bangladesh - the remaining group B team – 3-0 in their

first match. Thailand and Bangladesh will lock horns in the other group B game, yesterday.

Meanwhile, yesterday, South Korea left star player Son Heung-min on the bench but still packed too much power as the defending champions opened their 2018 Asian Games Indonesia cam-paign with a 6-0 win over Bahrain.

In other matches, hosts Indonesia suffered a blow when they went down 2-1 to Palestine while

Hong Kong edged closer to the knockout stage after defeating Chinese Taipei 4-0.

South Korea, who defeated DPR Korea 1-0 in the final four years ago, opened their title defence in style as they took a five-goal lead in the first half against Bahrain.

The defending champions went ahead after 17 minutes through Hwang Ui-Jo and doubled their lead when Kim Jin-ya found the net in the 23rd minute.

The Taeguk Warriors’ attacking flair was on full display against the West Asians as Hwang picked up his second in the 36th minute.

Na Sang-ho then scored his team’s fourth in the 41st minute while Hwang claimed his hat-trick in the 43rd as Korea Republic took a huge advantage into the break. Bahrain came out of their shell after the break as the East Asians sat back.

In added time, the Taeguk

Warriors claimed their sixth goal from Hwang Hee Chan’s free-kick after Lee Seung-woo was brought down by Hamad Alshamsan.

In a group E match, Malaysia posted a 3-1 win over Kyrgyz Republic while in group F DPR Korea played out a 1-1 draw against Myanmar. Saudi Arabia and Iran shared spoils after a goalless draw in other group F tie.

Qatar eye second win in 5x5 basketball

Meanwhile, Qatar will be looking for their second con-secutive victory in 5x5 bas-ketball as they take on Japan in group C today.

Qatar overcame a fightback by Hong Kong to claim their opening victory with a 90-80 margin at Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex on Tuesday.

A victory against Japan will consolidate Qatar’s chances of reaching the next stage of the contest. In other basketball matches today, South Korea will take on Mongolia while Kazakhstan will square off with Philippines.

Qatar’s Meshaal Alshamari vies for the ball with Thailand’s Phitiwat Sookjitthummakul (down) during their Group B match at the 2018 Asian Games in Bogor, Indonesia on Tuesday.

Qatar dethrone Iran to clinch AVC crownCHINTHANA WASALA THE PENINSULA

DOHA: After dropping the first two sets, debutants Qatar made a brilliant comeback to see off the defending champions Iran 3-2 (23–25, 21–25, 25–22, 25–18, 15–10) in a thrilling finale to clinch the Asian Volleyball Confeder-ation (AVC) Cup title in Taipei, Chinese Taipei yesterday.

Both Qatar and Iran entered the final full of confidence as the were the only unbeaten teams in the tournament.

Qatar defeated Vietnam (3-0) and Thailand (3-0) in the group stage and outplayed South Korea 3-0 in the quarter-finals before reaching the final with a 3-1 win against Asian champions Japan.

In yesterday’s final at the Uni-versity of Taipei Gymnasium, the three-time title winners Iran got off to a brilliant start and went on to secure the first set with a margin of 25-23 despite a strong fightback from Al Annabi.

Iran got closer to winning back to back titles by outplaying the Qatari men in the second set (25-21) to make it 2-0 in their favour.

But that is when the Qatari team turned the tide with destructive serves and thundering attacks to overcome the strong Iranian defense. Qatar made the full use of their height advantage against the seasoned Iranians to claim the third set 25-22 to reduce lead. Iran failed to pose a similar kind of a threat in the fourth set as Qatar won 25-18 to tie the game at 2-2.

In the initial stages of the

decider, Qatar were in full swing and led 4-1 before Iran reduced the deficit. However, Ribeiro Renan led the Qatari attack to spoil Iranian attempts to win the final set with an impressive margin of 15-10 to earn the Cham-pionship crown.

“We are very excited now. We always believe that we can win the championship. The main reason we could win the Cup is our attitude for every game. We never give up. Every player did his job well, and we worked con-sistently as a team,” Qatar head coach Camilo Soto said after yes-terday’s win.

Renan contributed 20 points while Most Valuable Player of the tournament Ibrahim Mohamed added 16. Hammad Mubarak (19) and Vasic Nikola (15) also made valuable contributions for cham-pions Al Anabi.

Earlier, Japan grabbed the bronze medal after pulling off an epic comeback win of 3-2 (21-25, 20-25, 32-30, 29-27, 17-15) over hosts Chinese Taipei.

AVC CUP FINAL STANDINGS

Gold: Qatar

Silver: Iran

Bronze: Japan

4: Chinese Taipei

5: Thailand

6: Australia

7: Kazakhstan

8: South Korea

9: Vietnam

INDIVIDUAL AWARD WINNERS

BEST OUTSIDE SPIKERS

Renan Ribeiro (Qatar)

Liu Hung-Min (Chinese Taipei)

BEST MIDDLE BLOCKERS

Ibrahim Mohamed (Qatar)

Taghizadeh Rahman (Iran)

BEST OPPOSITE

Hammad Mubarak (Qatar)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Ibrahim Mohamed (Qatar)

TODAY’S FOOTBALL FIXTURESGroup B

Bangladesh vs Thailand Qatar vs Uzbekistan

Group CTimor-Leste vs UAE

Syria vs China Group D

Pakistan vs Japan Nepal vs Vietnam

TODAY’S BASKETBALL FIXTURES

Kazakhstan vs Phillippines South Korea vs Mongolia

Qatar vs Japan

Qatar’s Tanguy Ngombo (right) dribbles past Hong Kong’s Chow Ka Kui in their preliminary Group C game on Tuesday.

Weightlifting fights for Olympic Games survival at AsiadAFP

JAKARTA: Doping-ravaged weight-lifting begins its Asian Games compe-tition on Monday without a banned traditional powerhouse and with the sport’s boss warning it would “slowly disappear” if it were to lose its Olympic status.

No fewer than 12 world records were broken at an explosive 2014 Asiad in Incheon but now the sport needs to prove it can comply with world anti-doping standards to lift the threat of Olympic expulsion.

China dominated four years ago with seven golds, five silvers and two bronzes, but none of their lifters will be in Jakarta.

They are among nine nations cur-rently serving a 12-month International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) ban after their reanalysed drugs tests from the 2008 and 2012 Olympics returned at least three positives.

Kazakhstan, who were prominent with one gold and three silvers in 2014, are another of the nine banned, while Malaysia have pulled their team because of their own poor doping

record. North Korea have seen three of their four gold-medal winners from Incheon 2014 subsequently banned for failed drugs tests, but remain favourites to top the medal count in China’s absence.

Weightlifting is assured of its place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games but the drugs-tarnished sport is attempting a cultural change to prevent it being dropped from the programme for Paris 2024.

IWF president Tamas Ajan issued a stern warning last month that the sport would fall off the map if it were

to lose its Olympic status. The IWF delivered a report in June detailing how it had met anti-doping requirements demanded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

However, the IOC decided to leave to sport on probation until after the Asian Games and November’s World Championships.

“I have a question: what will happen with weightlifting if it is not on the (Olympic) programme?” the Romanian-born Hungarian Ajan asked delegates at the IWF congress in Tashkent last month.

“I don’t give the answer because you know it: weightlifting will slowly disappear.”

Ajan appealed to delegates to ensure their nations remained squeaky clean, with the IOC due to discuss the matter again at its executive meeting in Tokyo from November 30 to December 2.

“Please cut out everything that leads them to bringing their anabolic steroids, their growth hormones or any other things,” implored Ajan, according to website insidethegames.com. “Don’t use anything.”

Hosts target rich haul of medals as Asian Games torch reaches Jakarta AGENCIES

JAKARTA: As Indonesia gears up to host the Asian Games this month the Southeast Asian nation hopes to capitalise on home advantage and a range of new disciplines to break into the top 10 in the medal table for the first time since 1990.

Indonesia will be among 45 countries sending around 10,000 athletes to compete in 40 sports and 67 disciplines, including new events like bridge, jetskiing, roller skating and the Indonesian martial art pencak silat.

Indonesia, with a population of nearly 260 million, is fielding 938 athletes across the whole sports programme with the goal of winning at least 16 gold medals with the help of the new disciplines the hosts have brought in.

Its previous record was the 21 it won the last time the Games were held in Jakarta in 1962, according to the Olympic Council of Asia’s official website.

“If Indonesia only relies on Olympic sports, then our chance of winning medals is not that big,” said Gatot S. Dewa Broto, the youth and sports ministry’s secretary.

Indonesia has a big oppor-tunity to earn medals from the new events but the home team will not have it easy, Ekawahyu Kasih, Indonesia Bridge Associ-ation chairman, said.

“This is the first time bridge enters the Asian Games and all competing countries want to make history,” he said.

Indonesia’s 24 bridge “ath-letes”, which includes tycoon Michael Bambang Hartono, the co-founder of Indonesia’s Djarum Group, have undergone intensive training and competed in the United States and Europe for the past two months under the supervision of professional bridge player and writer Krzysztof Martens.

The team is aiming to win two of the six bridge gold medals available at the Games,

but will see fierce compeition from the likes of China, India, and Japan.

Indonesia won only four gold medals at the last Asian Games in Incheon four years ago -- in the women’s long jump, badmin-ton’s men and women doubles, and the Chinese martial art of wushu.

One of its main hopes for gold will be men’s badminton duo Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon, currently the world’s top ranked pair and who won the All England Open in March.

Since the first Asiad was held

in New Delhi in 1951, Indonesia has collected 411 medals, including 91 golds, 121 silvers and 199 bronzes, mostly from badminton.

“All athletes have prepared well, let’s pray they remain at their top performance to present an achievement that will make Indonesia proud,” Jusuf Kalla, vice president, was quoted as saying on the cabinet secretary’s website.

Meanwhile, the torch for the 18th Asian Games reached Indo-nesia’s capital Jakarta yesterday, ending a month-long journey across the Southeast Asian archi-pelago nation.

It was welcomed in style by marching bands, traditional dances and concerts, after starting its journey in the host country’s cultural centre Yogyakarta on July 17.

The flame was lit in India’s capital New Delhi, which hosted the first Asian Games, back in 1951.

Organisers hope the torch relay will attract at least one million spectators across the sprawling Indonesian capital.

Some 10,000 torch bearers, including Indonesian badminton legends Rudy Hartono, Icuk Sug-iarto and Ricky Subagja, will be taking part in the relay.

The torch is set to arrive on Saturday at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium for the Games’ opening ceremonies, ending its 18,000-kilometre (11,200-mile) journey across 54 cities.

Indonesia, with a

population of nearly

260 million, is fielding

938 athletes across

the whole sports

programme with the

goal of winning at

least 16 gold medals

with the help of the

new disciplines the

hosts have brought in.

21THURSDAY 16 AUGUST 2018 SPORT

Officials light the 2018 Asian Games Torch during the Torch relay in Jakarta, yesterday.

Heavyweights Kazakhstan aim for high medal countREUTERS

ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN: Boxing heavyweights Kaza-khstan will hope to punch above its weight and rack up another high medal count at the Jakarta Asian Games after finishing fourth at Incheon four years ago.

The Central Asian nation of 17 million has traditionally been strong in summer sports such as boxing and judo, and scooped 84 medals, including 28 golds, at the 2014 Games.

Kazakhstan’s delegation will be led by 21-year-old middle-weight boxer Abilkhan Amankul who will serve as the country’s flag-bearer at the opening cer-emony on Saturday.

“There will be no weak com-petitors at the Asian Games,” Amankul, a silver medallist at last year’s World Boxing Cham-pionships, said in a video pub-lished by Kazakhstan’s Boxing Federation.

“There it will become clear who is stronger.”

Kazakhstan won 10 medals in boxing at the 2014 Asian Games, including six gold. Zhaina Shekerbekova, the 2014 Asian Games flyweight silver

medallist, will again represent the women’s side. The men’s judo team has their sights on claiming a gold, silver and bronze. Kazakh judokas won six medals at Incheon: one gold, two silvers and three bronzes.

Yeldos Smetov, who won a judo silver at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in the under-60 kg category, will be looking to win his second consecutive Asian Games gold.

“Traditionally Kazakh ath-letes have been strong at

continental competitions,” said Yeldos Ramazanov, the deputy secretary general of Kaza-khstan’s Olympic Committee.

“We are seeing that Asia is becoming the centre of the sports world. The Winter Games were held in South Korea, the next summer Olympic Games are in Japan, then the Olympics come back to China for winter sports.”

The Kazakh city of Almaty, which hosted the 2017 Winter Universiade, twice lost bids to

host the Winter Olympics, losing to Beijing for the 2022 Games and to Sochi for 2014.

The Asian Games come as Kazakh sport mourns the death of its first Olympic medallist in figure skating, Denis Ten, who was stabbed to death in Almaty last month.

The 25-year-old, who won bronze at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, was killed during a struggle with two men he caught trying to steal the mirrors of his car.

Abilkhan Amankul (right) will lead Kazakhstan’s delegation at Asian Games.

Unified Korean basketball team defeats IndonesiaAP

JAKARTA: Three North Korean basketball players were part of a unified Korean women’s basketball team that defeated Indo-nesia 108-40 yesterday at the Asian Games.

South Korean player Park Hyejin said centre Ro Suk Yong, guard Jang Mi Gyong and guard Kim Hye Yon joined nine others from the South to form the unified team last month.

“The joint training period that we have to go through ahead the games was very short and this is certainly a particular challenge for us, but that was not an obstacle because we are all very happy with this unification,” Park said.

“There is no significant difficulties among us so far, because in fact we are from the same nation and culture. We have no difficulty com-municating because our lan-guage is same,” said the South Korean player following the match.

Ro scored 22 points while Kim added 14 against host Indonesia at the 2,500-seat basketball hall at the Bung Karno Sports Center.

The North Korean players immediately went to the changing room after the game.

The arena was half-filled for the game, with about 100 Korean fans wearing white T-shirts and hats, some beating traditional drums and others waving flags during the match.

Basketball is one of three sports in which the Koreas will field joint squads at the Asian Games, with rowing and canoeing being the other disciplines.

South Korea is the defending Asian Games champion in women’s bas-ketball and Park was hopeful of retaining the gold medal they won in the home competition.

“Our target for now is to win a gold medal,” said the Korean.

We don’t think about our target after this, we are cur-rently focusing on the Asian Games,” Park added.

“We do hope that the unified Korea team can con-tinue, not only in basketball, but also in other sports and this will lead to unification in other fields.”

Centre Ro Suk

Yong, guard Jang

Mi Gyong and guard

Kim Hye Yon joined

nine others from the

South to form the

unified team last

month.

REUTERS

NEW DELHI: India will be banking largely on their shooters, wrestlers and boxers to deliver gold at the Asian Games in Indonesia to better the 57-medal mark they achieved in Incheon four years ago.

India only twice finished outside the top eight since hosting the first Asiad in 1951.

They won at least 10 golds in each of the last four Games and this competition will be a timely indicator ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

Spearheading India’s golden pursuit will be the shooters, who topped the medal tally in this year’s Mexico World Cup, finishing ahead of United States and China and be headlined by a trio of talented teenagers.

The wrestling mat could prove equally high-yielding and Bajrang Punia’s sizzling form makes the 2014 silver medallist India’s best bet for a gold in Jakarta.

The freestyle wrestler won the 65kg gold at the Commonwealth Games and was not required to attend trials for the Asiad.

India bank on shooters and wrestlers

22 THURSDAY 16 AUGUST 2018SPORT

Croatian stars Subasic and Mandzukic retireREUTERS

ZAGREB: Croatian goalkeeper Danijel Subasic and striker Mario Mandzukic have announced their retirement from international football almost a month after helping the Balkan nation reach the World Cup final for the first time.

The 33-year-old goalkeeper Subasic said he made the decision to end his journey with Croatia before the World Cup, and reaching the final in Moscow was a dream come true.

“The time has come for me to say farewell to our favourite jersey, after 10 years in the national team,” Subasic, who earned 44 caps, said in a statement.

“I have made this decision long before the 2018 FIFA World Cup, since I wanted to close this inter-national chapter appearing at the world stage.

“We have been dreaming awake during the welcome in Zagreb, my Zadar, and the entire Croatia. These have been the best, most emotional moments of my career, that have defined my inter-national career.”

Mandzukic, scored 33 goals for Croatia, two less than top scorer Davor Suker, in 89 appearances since his 2007 debut.

The 32-year-old netted three goals in his team’s run to the World Cup final in July, where they fell to a 4-2 defeat by France.

“There is no ideal moment to retire. If possible, we would all play for Croatia until we die, since there

is no prouder feeling, but I feel this moment has come for me -- now,” the Juventus forward said in a statement on the national team’s website.

“I’ve given my best for Croatia, I have contributed to the biggest success of Croatian football... As of today, my place is alongside you -- among the most loyal Croatia fans.”

Apart from two World Cups, Mandzukic also represented Croatia in two European Cham-pionships and was named the nation’s Footballer of the Year in 2012 and 2013.

Defender Vedran Corluka also announced his retirement from the Croatian national team last week.

Roger Federer of Switzerland serves to Peter Gojowczyk of Germany during their Western and Southern Cincinnati Masters Round of 32 match at the Lindner Family Tennis Center yesterday.

Federer advances as Serena knocked out in Cincinnati

AP

CINCINNATI: Roger Federer made a

successful return to the Cincinnati

Masters on Tuesday.The day wasn’t so great for Serena

Williams.Federer advanced to the third

round with a 6-4, 6-4 victory against

Peter Gojowczyk, and Williams was

eliminated by eighth-seeded Petra

Kvitova in a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 second-

round loss.Federer and Williams were

making their first appearance at

the tournament since they each

won the title in 2015. Williams

opened with a straight-set

victory against Daria Gavrilova.

After a first-round bye,

Federer extended his

Cincinnati winning streak

to 11 matches since losing

to Rafael Nadal in the

2013 quarterfinals.The second-

seeded Federer,

refreshed from a month off after

losing in the Wim-

bledon

quarterfinals, became the tournament

favorite when Nadal withdrew on

Sunday night.Williams also was knocked out in

her last tournament at San Jose two

weeks ago after reaching the Wim-

bledon final. Cincinnati was her fifth

tournament since she had a baby last

September. She has dealt with blood

clots and recently said she has been

struggling with postpartum emotions.

“Karolina Pliskova and Nick Kyrgios

also advanced Tuesday in early tour-

nament action.Pliskova moved into the second

round by snapping a seven-match

losing streak against Agnieszka Rad-

wanska with a 6-3, 6-3 win.

Kyrgios, a finalist last year in

Cincinnati, overcame physical problems

to fight off qualifier Denis Kudla for a

6-7 (2), 7-5, 7-6 (9) victory.

No. 11 seed David Goffin advanced

with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Stefanos Tsit-

sipas, and Leonardo Mayer became the

first player to reach the third round on

the men’s side with a 7-6 (7), 6-4

victory over 16th-seeded Lucas Pouille.

Denis Shapovalov also reached the

third round with an upset, knocking off

14th-seeded Kyle Edmund, 6-4, 7-5.

Australian Open semifinalist Hyeon

Chung won the last five games to beat

Jack Sock 2-6, 6-1, 6-2. Sock has lost

eight straight matches since winning

in Rome on May 13.Two-time Cincinnati semifinalist

Milos Raonic advanced with a 6-3, 6-3

win over qualifier Dusan Lajovic. Robin

Haase also made it to the second

round, defeating Filip Krajinovic 4-6,

6-2, 6-3.Fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina was

tested by wild card Svetlana

Kuznetsova before reaching the third

round with a gritty 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-4

win. Sixth-seeded Caroline Garcia

also reached the third round with a

6-4, 6-5 win over wild card Victoria

Azarenka, but 12th-seeded Daria

Kasatkina suffered a first-round

upset at the hands of qualifier Petra

Martic, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.Elise Mertens scored a 6-4, 6-2

first-round win over Magdalena

Rybarikova. Ashleigh Barty

stopped wild card Marketa Von-

drousova 6-3, 7-5.Maria Sakkari upset Indian

Wells champion Naomi Osaka 6-3,

7-6 (8). Ekaterina Makarova

cruised past qualifier Ana Bogdan

6-3, 6-2.

Petra Kvitova (left) shakes hands with Serena Williams (right) after winning her Western and Southern Cincinnati Masters Round of 32 match at Lindner Family Tennis Center yesterday.

Croatian striker Mario Mandzukic

Croatian goalkeeper Danijel Subasic makes a save during the Russia 2018 World Cup in this file photo.

Champions League title not vital for Man City success: De Bruyne

REUTERS

LONDON: Manchester City do not need to win the Champions League to be considered successful as the European competition does not demand the same level of consistency it takes to triumph in the Premier League, midfielder Kevin de Bruyne has said.

The 27-year-old Belgian has been a key part of City’s rise in recent years, with Pep Guardiola’s side clinching the league title after a record-breaking run last season to add to their League Cup triumph.

The Champions League, however, has eluded City’s grasp with the high-flying side falling in the semi-finals in 2016 and knocked out by league rivals Liverpool in the quarter-finals last term.

“I don’t agree that we have to win the Champions League to be a success. It is a big title to win but in the Champions League you don’t

need to have the consistency that you need in the league,” De Bruyne told the BBC.

“We were great for the whole year, maybe a bit less against Liv-erpool, and so we were out. It is a tournament, you need to be good at the right time.

“In the league if you have a bad spell then you are running behind. It is a different prospect, cup games are different to a league.”

Liverpool have also challenged City in the league, with the Etihad Stadium outfit winning just one of the last five meetings between the sides -- a 5-0 win at home early last season.

De Bruyne believes that Liv-erpool, who have strengthened sig-nificantly in the transfer window, will lead the challenge to de-throne City, along with the rest of the top six, this season.

“The main focus is on us. The other teams are always going to push us, Liverpool did what we did last year. They have spent a lot of money but wisely,” De Bruyne added.

“They needed some additions and they have got them

in the right places. They saw that

they had to up the level to come closer to us and we are trying to m a i n t a i n what we have

done last year.“It will be a good battle b e t w e e n the top

sides.”

his w,”

a m’s

a,st of

ou

e in

so he k.

c

the Champions League to be a success. It is a big title to win but in the Champions League you don’t

need to have the consistency ththatat y youou n neeeedd inin t thehe l leaeaguguee,” De Bruyny e told theBBC.

us, Liverpool did what we did lastyear. They have spent a lot of money but wisely,” De Bruyne added.

“They needed some additionsanandd ththeyey h havavee gogott ththemem

in the rigght pplaces.They saw that

they had to up the level to come closerto us and weare trying tom a i n t a i nwhat we have

done last year.“It will be agood battle b e t w e e n the top

sides.”

Kevin de Bruyne

Stead named New Zealand cricket coach

AP

WELLINGTON: Former Test batsman Gary Stead was confirmed yesterday as coach of the New Zealand cricket team, succeeding Mike Hesson who resigned unexpectedly in June.

Stead, 46, played five tests as a top-order batsman in 1999 before establishing a successful coaching career with Can-terbury province and the New Zealand women’s team.

He was one of several leading New Zealand-based coaches interviewed for the national coaching role which Hesson left on June 7, with a year to run on his contract.

Hesson was New Zealand’s longest-serving coach and one of its most successful. In appointing his successor New Zealand Cricket sought a candidate who would ensure continuity, adopting a similar style to Hesson who has been widely applauded for the success he achieved while installing a culture of fair play in the New Zealand team.

Stead was a member of a Canterbury team which dominated New Zealand domestic cricket in the 1990s, playing 101 first class matches. As coach he guided Can-terbury to four domestic titles in four years between 2013 and 2017.

He also coached the New Zealand women to finals of 50-overs and Twenty20 World Cups. Stead served briefly as New Zealand batting coach last year in the absence of regular coach Craig McMillan.

He joins the team nine months out from the next ICC World Cup in England.

“It’s a matter of helping maintain New Zealand’s strong form on the inter-national scene but also respecting what’s happened over the past four or five years by continuing to push for improvement,” he said.

“This is a well-established and high-performing Black Caps side with an excellent captain in Kane Williamson and a real desire to win series and titles.

New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White said Stead emerged as the out-standing candidate in a recruitment process which included feedback from current New Zealand players.

Stead takes up his contract on Sept. 1 and will lead the New Zealand team for the first time in test, one-day and Twenty20 series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates from late October.