The Otago Sparks coach last night revealed he would be leaving Dunedin early next year to take up a three-year contract with an English women’s team, the Blaze, based in Nottingham.
Cumming, who will see the Sparks through the Super Smash T20 campaign before leaving his post after nearly five summers, said a month spent as a guest of the Blaze earlier this year convinced him to put his hand up when the head coach role became available.
"I got to experience a wonderful organisation, a wonderful group of people from the management and the support staff and the players, and I think I saw a lot of what I love here with the Sparks.
"I suppose you trust your instincts, you trust your gut, and I felt like I'd love to be part of what the Blaze are doing.
"I also believe I've got some skills that would help them grow, and I gained confidence from having spent time in the organisation.
"It's a huge challenge. It's a different challenge. You go into a fully professional set-up, you've got fulltime staff, you've got fulltime contracted players, so it's a wonderful opportunity to go and, I suppose, try and make an impact in a different organisation."
Cumming’s tenure with the Sparks has included winning two Hallyburton Johnstone Shield titles and fostering significant improvements from many of his players.
He recently signed a two-year extension in the Otago role but the English opportunity was too good to turn down for the former Black Caps and Volts opener.
"I love Otago cricket, but passion and desire is something that drives me every day, and when I went over to the Blaze, my passion for that organisation just took off.
"Otago cricket, first the Volts and now the Sparks, means the absolute world to me. My four and a-half years with the Sparks have been some of the greatest years of my life, not just because of cricket, but because of who the people are.
"We'll be leaving a group that I absolutely love, but without that group, I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now. The Sparks players have inspired me to want to be a coach, and I've learned more from my players than they've learned from me.
"The hardest part is saying goodbye, but in some way things just feel right."
Cumming has previously worked as a commercial manager and a head of school sport, and has been a regular on television commentary teams and the radio airwaves.
He never saw himself as a career coach but he has a relentless need to be challenged every day and invigorated by what he is doing.
Cumming has coached the New Zealand A women and was widely seen as the White Ferns coach in waiting, though he was not certain that was the pathway he wanted to follow.
"I love coaching every day, and I love having an influence on people every day. International cricket is different because you're not with players every day, so I don't know.
"All I know is that this is the most important thing about to happen. My goal is to go over there and maybe have three years but hopefully do a good job and it could be five years.
"It's a big move to go to the other side of the world but everything feels right other than having to tell my players that I'm leaving. That's really hard, but everything else just feels right."
Cumming’s wife, Penny, will spend some time in England next year with a view to relocating with her husband fulltime.
While it would be a wrench to leave behind sons Jacob and Zac, both in the fledgling stages of their cricket careers with the Volts, it might be healthy for them, their father said.
"Maybe they need dad out of their shadow. I want them to be young men who forge their way because of who they are.
"They're better cricketers than I was. They've got really big careers if they want to do that, and I think sometimes having dad in the same office as them can be a hindrance.
"I'll always be there to support them — I'll be their No 1 fan — but I just want to be their dad, and I don't need dad to come up in every conversation."
The Blaze, previously known as the Lightning, were established as one of eight regional teams in England, but they will revert to a county-based structure next year.
They won the English T20 title this year and have 21 fulltime players, including superstar Nat Sciver-Brunt.
Otago Cricket Association performance general manager Steve Martin said Cumming’s legacy would be his development of a culture and environment that helped the women’s professional game thrive.
"Craig has done a tremendous job developing players through his technical and tactical expertise and his ability to create quality performance team environments," Martin said.
The Sparks have two one-day double-headers and, potentially, a final after Cumming leaves.
It seems likely they will be under the stewardship of assistant coach Shawn Hicks before a permanent appointment is made.
