New Zealand Cricket is in no rush to install the successor to Dan Vettori as national captain.
The public debate over the next New Zealand cricket captain may be chewing up plenty of air time but do not expect an announcement any time soon.
In part, that is down to a change of schedules for this year but there is also a raft of new appointments to come out of a review post-World Cup.
New Zealand was to tour Bangladesh in May-June, but that trip has been put off until next year.
So New Zealand has no international engagements until it visits Zimbabwe in October, most probably for a test, a twenty/20 and three ODIs.
Current vice-captain Ross Taylor and the man he replaced in that role, wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum, are the only options.
Both have their high-profile backers.
They might be keen to have a decision made but NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan said there was no rush, now that Bangladesh was off this year's calendar.
"I'd need to have a good chat to Wrighty [national coach John Wright] about his views," he said.
"It gives us a little more time to make a decision. I'm not saying we'd wait until September, but it may be more like May or June."
Tied in with that are appointments that are due once the World Cup dust has settled.
They include a new director of cricket, for which NZC is looking at candidates overseas as well as local options.
The process has begun informally and an announcement is expected in about six weeks.
"We want to get the right person but we want that person soon," Vaughan said.
"We are now clear in what we're after, so I'd like to think in the next six to eight weeks we can push forward on that."
There is also the new team manager, with encumbent Dave Currie expected to stand down shortly; national selectors - convener Mark Greatbatch, Glenn Turner and Lance Cairns are up for reappointment; plus various coaching specialists such as former South African speedster Allan Donald.
It makes sense that chronological order applies - there is no sense in a panel that might be changed appointing the new captain.
Hopes of a multi-game Chappell Hadlee ODI series against Australia in February are gone.
New Zealand will play two tests in November across the Tasman but a scheduling issue means the one-day component of the summer cannot be squeezed in - and, what's more, New Zealand is now out of a proposed tri-series with the hosts and India.
It cannot take part in that series as it needs to be home to host South Africa in the major event of the New Zealand summer, starting in February.
Vaughan said he was not disappointed at missing the series "but we would be if we can't keep games against Australia going on a regular basis".
"Ideally, we'd be looking for a three-game series, but the reality is we may have to look for one-off opportunities for single games on an annual basis."
Vaughan heads to India next week for a meeting that is expected to fine-tune details for a world ODI league to go with the test championship.
They are part of the next Future Tours Programme, to run from 2012 until 2020.
The test schedule is all but signed off, but the ODI component is still being worked through.
New Zealand needs to find time to work in ODI series against Pakistan and Australia in the next four years to fulfil the criteria for the FTP.
- David Leggat
