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Opinion: 'He has turned a once faltering side into a fierce, respected and enjoyable team' - Mike Hesson to step down as Black Caps coach

1 NEWS sports reporter Guy Heveldt praises Hesson for his impact in New Zealand Cricket in his tenure as head coach.

When Mike Hesson was put in front of the media in 2012 as the new Black Caps coach I thought, "who is this? New Zealand Cricket have hit new lows."

When Mike Hesson unceremoniously took the captaincy from Ross Taylor and gave it to Brendon McCullum I thought "what is he doing? This guy has no idea."

How wrong I was.

Hesson's shock resignation ends a six-year tenure few were expecting but many have admired.

Under him there have been records, some of the most memorable moments in New Zealand sport and a newfound respect for the New Zealand cricket team.

A respect that for a long period since 2000 hasn't been there.

That respect had to be built up over a long period of time and is probably still building for a lot of people.

But it's largely due to Hesson and his incredible dedication that they've recaptured the love of the public.

It required a considerable culture change in the Black Caps and New Zealand Cricket as a whole.

That was, largely, led by the unassuming, passionate and driven Hesson. Having been lucky enough to be at training sessions, games and other various cricket events, I've seen that culture change and develop.

And it's as good as it's ever been. The players want to play for each other. They care about the team. They care about the silver fern. And, most of all, they want to win.

When Hesson dumped Taylor for McCullum he was ridiculed from plenty of angles, including this one. Taylor was a respected player, a batsman who cricket followers knew was going to be one of our greats and someone who deserved to lead the team.

But, Hesson wanted to take the team in a different direction and, by doing that, in his mind had to change the captain.

He needed more aggression. McCullum, along with Hesson, developed a game plan and a style of play that catapulted the Black Caps into a new era.

It wasn't because Taylor was a bad captain, he just wasn't the captain Hesson needed for what he wanted.

I see that now, with hindsight. The whole sorry saga wasn't handled the best and I think there could be some regrets there from some quarters, but it's hard to argue it wasn't the right move.

In the six years of Hesson's reign, the Black Caps famously reached the Cricket World Cup final, won a series in South Africa for the first ever time and had significant winning streaks of 10 games on more than one occasion.

One constant in all of that is Hesson. He, from all accounts, was always planning and thinking of ways to beat the opposition, make his team better on the field and off it, doing all this when most would be sleeping or spending time with family.

It was reported recently he spent about 300 days away from his family last year. No wonder then there were tears when talking about how much he's missed his wife and kids.

But, such is the dedication of Hesson, it never got in the way of helping the team.

His replacement needs that dedication. They need to understand the culture Hesson's built and they simply can't afford to derail that. David White, NZ Cricket CEO, wants that person to be a Kiwi. That makes sense and is the best way forward.

But boy, that person has clown-sized shoes to fill. Mike Hesson has turned a once faltering, crumbling team into a fierce, competitive, respected and enjoyable team.

I was wrong. Great innings, Mike.

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