A blend of current and former international and domestic cricketers\u00a0will\u00a0feature\u00a0in\u00a0New Zealand Cricket’s Performance Coaching Course (PCC) for the 2026\/27 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now entering its fourth year, the NZC Performance Coaching Course is a 10-month\u00a0programme\u00a0designed to support the development of high-performing coaches across the country. The\u00a0programme\u00a0combines three in-person residential camps, online learning forums, mentoring\u00a0opportunities\u00a0and observation within participants’ own coaching environments.\u00a0<\/p>\n
NZC Hall of Fame inductee Emily Drumm (Auckland), current contracted BLACKCAP Tom Blundell (Wellington), Former BLACKCAP Anton\u00a0Devcich\u00a0(Northern Districts)\u00a0and WHITE FERNS selector Sarah Tsukigawa (Otago) are among the 13 coaches named in the latest cohort,\u00a0showcasing\u00a0the depth of coaching talent continuing to\u00a0emerge\u00a0across the New Zealand Cricket system.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For Drumm, one of the most decorated figures in New Zealand women’s cricket history, the move into coaching has felt like a natural progression.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“For me,\u00a0it’s\u00a0about continuing to develop and broaden my learning,\u00a0while also giving back to\u00a0the game that\u2019s given me so much.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I’m excited to be back involved and have the opportunity to work with the rising\u00a0stars of\u00a0tomorrow.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Drumm\u00a0was\u00a0also equally enthusiastic about what the cohort represents for the future of women’s coaching in New Zealand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I look around at the women involved in coaching across New Zealand, there is so much talent here.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis\u00a0programme\u00a0is a brilliant way to nurture that and make sure those coaches get the opportunity and support they deserve at the performance level.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
The cohort also reflects the international talent of cricket in New Zealand, with former Sri Lankan international Malinda Warnapura (Wellington) and Prabodha Ellawala Liyanage (Northern Districts) adding global experience to the group.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Current domestic player Cam Fletcher (Auckland) is joined by a strong contingent of former domestic representatives in Ken McClure (Canterbury), Louis Delport (Auckland), Mitch Renwick (Northern Districts), Nick White (Auckland), Rob Frew (Canterbury)\u00a0and Sam Fairley (Wellington).\u00a0<\/p>\n
National Coach Development Manager, Toby Doyle, says the cohort\u00a0represents\u00a0a meaningful step in how New Zealand Cricket continues to build coaching capability at the performance level.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“This Performance Coaching cohort represents an exciting step forward for how we continue to grow coaching capability across the country,” said Doyle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We have been deliberate in using feedback and reflection from past cohorts to evolve the\u00a0programme. Those learnings have helped sharpen our focus, strengthen the learning\u00a0design\u00a0and ensure the course remains relevant to the realities coaches are working within in performance environments.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
NZC\u00a0High Performance\u00a0Coach Development Manager Dave\u00a0Keetly\u00a0was equally enthusiastic about the\u00a0calibre\u00a0of this year’s intake.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We’ve selected 13 high-quality coaches for this cohort, and it’s exciting to see some well-known names from their playing careers now showing real potential as coaches,” said\u00a0Keetly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“People like Tom Blundell, Anton Devcich, and Emily Drumm bring significant mana to the game, and seeing them transition into coaching roles to share their knowledge is hugely positive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“One of the key selection criteria for this\u00a0programme\u00a0is an openness to learning, and this cohort clearly demonstrates that mindset. Through their applications, this group showed a genuine willingness to challenge themselves and their thinking as they continue to grow their coaching capability.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first residential camp for the new cohort will take place in Lincoln on June 6 and 7.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0previous\u00a0cohort completed the\u00a0programme\u00a0in April 2025, with graduates continuing to contribute across high performance, domestic and community cricket environments.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
2026\/27 Performance Coaching Course Participants\u00a0<\/p>\n
Anton Devcich Northern Districts
Cam Fletcher Auckland
Emily Drumm Auckland
Ken McClure Canterbury\u00a0\u00a0
Louis Delport Auckland\u00a0\u00a0
Malinda Warnapura Wellington\u00a0\u00a0
Mitch Renwick Northern Districts\u00a0\u00a0
Nick White Auckland\u00a0\u00a0
Prabodha Ellawala Liyanage Northern Districts\u00a0
Rob Frew Canterbury\u00a0\u00a0
Sam Fairley Wellington\u00a0\u00a0
Sarah Tsukigawa Otago\u00a0\u00a0
Tom Blundell Wellington<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A blend of current and former international and domestic cricketers\u00a0will\u00a0feature\u00a0in\u00a0New Zealand Cricket’s Performance Coaching Course (PCC) for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":739637,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,85],"class_list":["post-739636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cricket","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=739636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739636\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/739637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=739636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=739636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=739636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}