Christchurch, July 17 (IANS) New Zealand batting coach Luke Ronchi will step down from his role with NZC to become head coach of the Melbourne Renegades in the Australian Big Bash League.
Ronchi will continue working with the BlackCaps group throughout the upcoming India tour of New Zealand in October and will join the Melbourne Renegades after the conclusion of the series.
Ronchi, a former international player for both Australia and New Zealand, assumed the role of full-time batting coach in 2020 after Peter Fulton stepped away to become head coach at Canterbury.
“Coming back to the national set up has been a dream come true for me and I’m immensely grateful to my fellow coaches and the players for the opportunity to work alongside them for all these years.
“It has always been my goal to try and help this team and the batters perform at the highest level and reflecting back, there have been some pretty memorable moments that I’m proud to have been part of,” said Ronchi in a statement shared by NZC.
During Ronchi’s time with the BlackCaps, the team witnessed one of the most successful chapters in the history, with the inaugural ICC World Test Championship win in 2021, two ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final appearances in 2021 and 2026, the 3-0 away Test series win against India in 2024, the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy campaign, the 2-1 away ODI series win against India in January, and the recent 2-1 away Test series win against England in June.
Test captain Tom Latham spoke highly of Ronchi’s time with the side. “He’s such a valued member of this group, certainly when he was playing but also after he transitioned into the coaching space too, so it’s disappointing to be losing a guy like Ronchs,” he said.
“He’s someone who understands the environment and culture of this group and is a huge driver of that. I think you could talk to most guys, and they’d agree everyone’s game has gone from strength to strength under his guidance and he’s always been someone who’s worked incredibly hard for the team and that effort shows out in the middle.
“We’ll miss him, but we obviously wish him all the best for what he’s got coming up,” he added.
–IANS
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