Gav returns to cricket in dual roles

No sooner had Gavin Larsen taken on a new mentoring role with Nelson cricket than he secured a “recall” for the BLACKCAPS.

Māpua-based Gav started work this week as selection manager for the BLACKCAPS, a job he previously held for seven and a half years.

“I really loved that connection with coaches Mike Hesson and Gary Stead and I think we did a pretty good job through that period with succession planning,” he says. “We had world-class players who were in their prime – bowlers Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner and batters Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill and Tom Latham. The highlight was winning the world test championship, as I am a red ball traditionalist.”

He left to become high performance director for the Warwickshire County Cricket Club, returned to Māpua last year, and has now signed back on for three years. He will be working closely with new BLACKCAPS head coach Rob Walter, a South African who has also returned to New Zealand Cricket after previously coaching his national side.

“I have worked with Rob before and was impressed with his coaching. He is a people person and that was one of the reasons I was keen to put my name in the hat. Part of my job is to challenge him as head selector. It will be robust discussion,” declares the 63-year-old.

His “new boss” is chief high performance officer Daryl Gibson who played 19 tests for the All Blacks before moving into rugby coaching. Getting around the domestic circuit and “scouting” up and-coming talent will keep Gav very busy over the summer.

“It will be intensive,” he quips. Engaging with major cricket associations and re-establishing relationships will also be key components for the former Wellington Cricket Association chief executive who took on a new mentoring role with the Nelson Cricket Association last month.

He is working with eight teenagers. The five males include Nelson College twins Kurt and Hogan Ward, who are also very skilled hockey players.

“We have had three sessions already. I am not a tracksuit man. It is not about me trying to teach them to play a pull shot or improve their outswinger. I am offering a few wise words and working on their top two inches,” explains the former one-day specialist. He plans to bring in specialists in strength and conditioning, nutrition, mental skills, and a chaplain, as part of a wider holistic approach.

“I am also looking at the possibility of cross fertilisation with other sports like rugby and netball.”

Now he is officially back in the BLACKCAPS fold, Gav is also hoping his young crop might be able to spend time with international or Central Districts players.

“CD is obviously the next step on the ladder for them and then see where things go from there,” says Gav, who was the Nelson Giants’ commercial manager this year.

“I am still doing a day a week with them this month. I really enjoyed the basketball environment and would like to be involved again next season. It is not as though I am juggling roles.”

Gav will be at Saxton Oval this weekend watching the BLACKCAPS T20 side take on the West Indies, and just hopes the weather plays ball.