Justin Vaughan wants a Kiwi successor at NZC

Justin Vaughan believes a New Zealander should succeed him as the hunt begins for a new cricket chief executive to take over in December. The former doctor and test all-rounder ended a 4 1/2-year stint as New Zealand Cricket boss in a surprise resignation yesterday. Insisting it was "100 per cent of my own accord", Vaughan will walk away in late November, citing the crippling international travel schedule and time away from his family (two daughters and a son aged from 7 to 13) as the major reasons. Now the big question looms for NZC chairman Chris Moller and his board, who to take the organisation forward after a turbulent Vaughan reign? Amid an Australian influx including director of cricket John Buchanan, selection manager Kim Littlejohn and assistant coaches Trent Woodhill and Damien Wright, Vaughan hoped the new boss would be closer to home. "I think it should be a Kiwi. We are New Zealand Cricket, we're about representing our country. "There are people from other nationalities in the organisation there to drive the very best performance out of our elite area. I always feel if a New Zealander's as good as an overseas person then it ought to be a Kiwi that does the job," he said.

Early contenders might be Northern Districts boss David Cooper, who went close in 2007, and former team manager Lindsay Crocker who was Auckland chief executive officer. Whether Martin Snedden wants to return to his former job would be highly doubtful. A wildcard would be former captain Stephen Fleming, who wields power behind the scenes. But whether he covets the high-profile role and constant travel is another matter. He has a lucrative Indian Premier League coaching job, and manages top players Brendon McCullum and Tim Southee. Vaughan was a polarising figure in cricket circles. He conducted a staff cleanout at NZC headquarters and oversaw the rise and fall of key figures Geoff Allott, Andy Moles and Roger Mortimer, along with the Shane Bond ICL debacle. He took an eternity to sign John Wright as coach, but appeared to pull off a coup in luring Buchanan across the Tasman. Vaughan said he still loved his job but feared he may become burnt out. It was a 24/7 commitment. He decided in the past few weeks to step aside, and said there were job opportunities for him in healthcare. "A good chunk of me would love to be able to stay and see the fruits of what's been planted. But my personal circumstances and my desire to spend more time at home has over-ridden that. "It's worse when you come back home and you know you're going away the next week. It's like this conveyer belt. You persuade yourself it will stop soon but you know it won't." He regretted not seeing the job through until the 2015 World Cup to be co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia. But he felt the new chief executive needed time to settle in. Moller praised Vaughan for overseeing a 60 per cent increase in NZC's revenue. Vaughan rated the high point of his tenure the eight-year master agreement with the Players' Association. On the field, watching New Zealand's World Cup quarterfinal win over South Africa was satisfying, after a horror six months of results. A low point was the narrow semifinal defeat to Sri Lanka.