Wright quits

Call this our gratuitous non-John Banks story of the day; but there's bad news from New Zealand Cricket today:

John Wright’s short tenure as BlackCaps coach has come to an end after he turned down a contract extension.

It is thought that Wright’s turbulent relationship with Director of Cricket John Buchanan, was thought to be a factor in his decision.

Wright and NZC CEO David White fronted to the media at a press conference at the Bert Sutcliffe Pavillion in Christchurch today.

Contract negotiations had been delayed until after the recent home series against South Africa, and it is believed that the West Indies tour in June will be his last.

We're really disappointed that John Wright and NZC haven't been able to come to an agreement. Wright had been one of the best things to happen to the New Zealand team in recent years, and we were starting to get the feeling that he was at last developing a competitive test match side.

John Wright played the game hard, and brought a tremendous attitude and work ethic to the game. Those same attributes were evident in his career as a coach. His departure, just as New Zealand seemed poised for some success in the international arena, is a crying shame.

Here's John "Shake" Wright's finest moment as New Zealand coach:

We'll dine out on that one for a while. In the meantime we wish John Wright all the best for whatever challenge lies ahead.