McMillan appointed Kiwi batting coach for Windies tour

Christchurch, May 10 (IANS/CMC) Former Kiwi all-rounder Craig McMillan has been named the batting coach for New Zealand for their tour of the Caribbean starting later this month.

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said the 37-year-old was the "best fit" for the position, for the series against the West Indies that includes three Tests and two Twenty20 Internationals, reports CMC.

"We had a number of strong applicants from New Zealand and abroad but overall we felt that Craig was the best fit for the role," said Lindsay Crocker, NZC's head of cricket.

McMillan will replace Bob Carter who has moved into a high performance coaching role with NZC. He had a taste of the position last December when he stood in for one Test against the West Indies, when Carter was unavailable.

McMillan said that experience drove him to apply for the post.

"I really enjoyed those few days and that's part of the reason why I applied," he said. "It's a great group of guys with a strong work ethic and they want to improve."

McMillan played 55 Tests and 197 one-day internationals before quitting international cricket seven years ago.

--IANS/CMC

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