Christchurch: With an outstanding stint with Indian cricket team under his belt, John Wright is the first choice of New Zealand Cricket to coach the national team after incumbent John Bracewell, who steps down in April next year with an eye on the Indian Premier League job.

NZC Chief Executive Justin Vaughan has said if Wright was ready to return to the mainstream international grind, he was most welcome to work with the New Zealand team.

"John is responsible for player development from under-17's to international level and is doing a great job with that. I guess it depends whether he wants to go back on the road again," Vaughan was quoted as saying in the New Zealand media today.

Wright had last year accepted a job at NZC's high performance centre at Lincoln and was then elevated to acting manager after the departure of Ric Charlesworth, who was given a job of reviving Indian hockey by the International Federation (FIH).

Wright has reportedly said he would never rule anything out.

Vaughan said the rigours of international coaching were wearing on Bracewell and so he was not interested in renewing his contract.

The report also said that Bracewell had indicated he would be interested in the possibility of a coaching position in an Indian Premier League team in future.

Among other contenders for the job of national coach are Canterbury's South African coach Dave Nosworthy, who has achieved good results while rebuilding a young side, and Mark O' Donnell, who has had some successful seasons with Auckland since 2003. 
Source : PTI