Dean Brownlie appointed as New Zealand women's batting coach

CHRISTCHURCH (NEW ZEALAND): Former New Zealand batter Dean Brownlie has been appointed as the new batting coach of the New Zealand women's team alongside Craig Howard who joined the team as spin bowling coach.

Brownlie, who retired from his playing career at the end of the 2019-20 season, joins the Kiwi women's coaching staff following a stint with Northern Districts Cricket as their Network coach.

He brings previous international coaching experience to the role having joined the New Zealand coaching group as batting coach for last summer's home series against the Netherlands and more recently joined the New Zealand coaching staff for the T20 World Cup campaign in Australia.

A former three-format New Zealand, Brownlie represented New Zealand in 14 Tests, 16 ODIs and five T20Is and represented Canterbury and Northern Districts in a domestic career that spanned eleven years. Brownlie said he was looking forward to working with the team batting group.

"This batting group has a mix of world-class players and exciting young players coming through as well, so there's a unique playing dynamic that I hope to add value to.

I've been fortunate to experience cricket all around the world in different conditions, and I want to be able to share my knowledge of the game to help take this batting group to the next level.

There's some really experienced players in this group that know their game really well and will require support when needed, and there's younger players who are just starting out on their international cricket journey who I can provide a bit more guidance with, so it's individual with how I will contribute," Brownlie said in an official statement released by New Zealand Cricket (NZC).

"It's an exciting time for the side with a T20 World Cup on the horizon. We've seen recently how much the country jumps on the back of good performances at World Cups, so we want to perform well in South Africa, and that starts by planning and performing well in the upcoming series against Bangladesh," Brownlie added.

Howard, who was involved in the recent tour to the West Indies, joins on a 'tour-by-tour basis' and will be part of the coaching staff for the upcoming home series against Bangladesh and next year's T20 World Cup in South Africa.

The former Victoria first-class cricketer brings a wealth of spin experience to the group having previously held specialist spin bowling roles with Cricket Australia, South Australia, and the Adelaide Strikers, as well as with Australian spinners Nathan Lyon, Georgia Wareham, and Sophie Molineux.

Howard said he was looking forward to continuing working with young spinners Melie Kerr, Eden Carson and Fran Jonas.

"The side is fortunate to have some very talented young spinners. With the World Cup around the corner we will mainly continue to work on their strategy and mindset in the different formats and phases - making sure they're high percentage and giving them the best chance of performing their role which will be to limit the opposition's ability to score and take wickets," said Howard.

"We saw in Antigua, in those conditions, how effective they can be, they were quite dominant for such a young spin group, so there is a lot of excitement for the future. It's now about working on their attributes and developing strategies to thrive in the phases and formats that they'll be bowling in. I'm looking forward to building on what we worked on with the group in Antigua and that starts with the series coming up against Bangladesh," Howard added.

New Zealand women's team head coach Ben Sawyer said he was delighted to have Brownlie and Howard in the group. "Dean and Craig both have really impressive CVs and we know they'll be able to add a huge amount of value to this group.

Dean had an impressive playing career and has experience in countries and conditions around the world which will be vital, especially for our younger batters who are still learning about the intricacies of international cricket," said Sawyer.

"Craig has already shown with his time in the West Indies what he can bring, and we've already seen improvements in the ability and the mindset of our young spinners. It's now about putting that all together and producing performances against Bangladesh that help continue our momentum heading into the World Cup next year," he added.

New Zealand are set to play Bangladesh on their home soil for three T20Is and three ODIs match series starting December 2 and then go to the T20 World Cup where their first game is scheduled against Australia on February 11.