Former Blackcaps wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi has been appointed the side's new batting coach.
The Australian-born 39-year-old replaces Peter Fulton, who ended his one-year stint in the role to return to Canterbury as head coach.
Ronchi has had brief spells with the national side as batting coach in limited-overs cricket, while he also served as fielding coach at the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
Now based in Wellington, Ronchi moved to New Zealand in 2012 in a bid to play international cricket, which he achieved the following year.
Ronchi played four test matches, scoring a career-high 88, but was more of a constant in the 50 and 20-over formats. The talented gloveman played 85 one-dayers, which included a high score of 170 against Sri Lanka in 2015.
"I’m absolutely pumped,” Ronchi says of his new role. "I’ve really enjoyed being back with the team in recent seasons and it’s exciting to be given the opportunity full-time this summer.
"Getting the chance to continue working with our batsmen is a great honour, and I’m looking forward to seeing how I can help improve their games and best prepare them to perform at the highest level.
"It’ll be great to sit down with Gary and the other coaches to begin planning for what will be a busy summer, with four touring teams who will all bring different challenges."
Blackcaps veteran batsman Ross Taylor says Ronchi is the right man for the job.
"It’s been great to have Luke back with the group in recent years and I’m personally really looking forward to working with him as batting coach," he says.
"He’s obviously got great experience from playing and coaching around the world, and I know he will bring plenty of his own ideas to the table.
"He’s got a calm demeanour and already possesses many strong relationships within the group."
Since his retirement from international cricket in 2017, Ronchi has been involved with Cricket Wellington’s development programmes and was also a player-coach with Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League earlier this year.
Ronchi was also capped at international level for Australia, playing seven times for his country of birth in limited-over formats.
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