Sir Richard Hadlee is stepping down as a New Zealand Cricket selector, with the tour of England starting in April the final squad he will have a role in choosing.
New Zealand's greatest cricketer, who has been on the national selection panel for eight years, said he will not seek re-election after his one-year term expires in July.
‘‘I've had 36 years on the grounds as a player, commentator and selector and I feel it's time to move on and take a step back,'' he said before the first test against England started at Seddon Park yesterday.
Hadlee succeeded Ross Dykes as convener in the 2000-01 season but moved into the manager's role when head coach John Bracewell, appointed in 2003-04, was initially granted the final say on selection matters.
Bracewell's powers were pared back when he was reappointed after last year's one-day World Cup with him, Hadlee, Dion Nash and Glenn Turner selecting by consensus.
Hadlee, at one time the world's leading test wicket-taker, retired in 1990 with 431 scalps from 86 matches, the sixth-highest haul in history.
