New Zealand Cricket does not renew Ben Sawyer's contract after four years with the White Ferns

New Zealand Cricket will not renew Ben Sawyer's contract, ending the four-year tenure that delivered the White Ferns their first T20 World Cup

Sawyer was appointed in June 2022 and was contracted until December. New Zealand Cricket confirmed his deal will not be extended, following a comprehensive review of the board's women's high performance structure.

The same review has disestablished the White Ferns manager's role, so team manager Rachel Pettit departs as well, and has created a new performance lead position that NZC will recruit for alongside the head coaching job.

An interim head coach and manager will take the side to Australia next month for a T20I series, with the squad for that tour due to be named in early October.

A restructure rather than a verdict on results

NZC presented the decision as a change of model rather than a judgement on Sawyer's work. "Ben's overseen a period of considerable change and progression for the White Ferns and we're deeply appreciative of the commitment, professionalism and time he invested in the women's game," said Daryl Gibson, the board's chief high performance cricket officer.

"It was a difficult decision which was not made lightly, but it reflects our view that the next stage of the White Ferns journey requires a different leadership approach to support the future direction of the programme," Gibson said.

The title in Dubai

Sawyer's defining campaign came in 2024, when New Zealand won the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Dubai, the country's first title in the competition and its first white-ball world title since the 2000 World Cup.

He had already taken the side to a bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in his first tournament in charge, and his four years brought Georgia Plimmer, Eden Carson and Izzy Gaze through to World Cup winners.

A title defence that ended in the pool stage

The defence went badly. New Zealand lost their opening two matches of the 2026 T20 World Cup and, although wins over Ireland and Scotland kept them alive, a nine-wicket defeat by England in the final pool match on 28 June put them out.

New Zealand made 163 for 6; England answered with 164 for 1 and 14 balls to spare. Only one other defending champion, West Indies in 2018, has gone out at the group stage of the tournament.

The end of a generation

That match also closed the international careers of Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates and Lea Tahuhu, three players who between them had carried New Zealand's women's game for the better part of two decades.

Bates left as the most-capped White Fern, with 369 games and 10,721 international runs; Devine finished on 316 white-ball matches and Tahuhu on 206. Rebuilding without them is the job NZC has now handed to a coach it has yet to appoint.

Tributes from inside the camp

Captain Amelia Kerr said the squad was "hugely grateful for Ben and everything he's put into this team", adding: "His preparation was second to none, he poured his heart and soul into the role and left no stone unturned trying to make the team better." Kerr said Sawyer "played a huge part in a defining moment for women's cricket in New Zealand".

Liz Green, NZC's head of women's high performance development, called Sawyer "a passionate, caring, and highly strategic leader" who "leaves the team and women's pathways in a stronger position than when he joined us".

Sawyer said: "Being the White Ferns coach has been a huge honour and I'm really grateful to have had the opportunity to lead this group. This team means a lot to me and I'm really proud of what we've been able to achieve in the past four years." He added that while he was disappointed to be leaving, he wished the team and NZC all the best.

Recruitment for the permanent head coach and the new performance lead begins shortly, leaving the White Ferns to start their rebuild under interim staff in Australia.

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