5 most impactful cricket coaches in modern era

#3 Mike Hesson – The radical Kiwi coach

Mike Hesson took over as the coach of New Zealand when the erstwhile coach John Wright resigned in July 2012. Hesson is one of the few full time coaches of a test nation who has not played a single first-class match. Hesson, a rare breed of coaches, started his coaching career at the age of 21 when he was offered a contract for a club in Cambridgeshire in England on a pre-condition that he was involved in coaching his fellow team members.

His natural aptitude for coaching brought him an opportunity to work for Otago as a coaching director. His successful stint with Otago along with his exemplary organizational and interpersonal skills made him the chief contender for the role of the head coach of New Zealand cricket team after the exit of John Wright.

Hesson took some tough decisions in his initial days as a coach such as recommending Ross Taylor to surrender his captaincy which later proved to be beneficial to the team.

Under Hesson, New Zealand cricket tasted fair bit of success with ODI series wins against South Africa and England away from home during the 2012-13 season. The Test series victories against India and West indies at home in 2013-14 helped the Black Caps transform into a match winning and competitive playing side.

The biggest test for Hesson came in the year 2015 when Australia and New Zealand co-hosted the World Cup. Hesson’s bold approach of mentoring the team worked exceptionally well during the 2015 World Cup campaign. New Zealand entered the finals of a World Cup for the first time in the history of the game.

The strategic changes made by Hesson during the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2016 stood out when he opted to play with 3 spinners against India on a dry Nagpur pitch. The latest rankings released by the ICC is a reflection of the team’s performance during Hesson’s regime. The Black Caps are ranked as the number one side in latest T20 rankings and they are in second position in the ODI rankings.