Michael James Hesson (born 30 October 1974) is a New Zealand cricket coach who is the current head coach of the

Pakistan cricket team The Pakistan men's national cricket team represents Pakistan in international cricket. It is controlled by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the governing body for cricket in Pakistan, which is a Full Member of the International Cricket Counc ...

. He served in the same capacity for the

New Zealand cricket team The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in men's international cricket. Nicknamed the Black Caps (), they played their first Test in 1930 against England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. ...

. He also coached for the

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, and

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

in New Zealand domestic cricket. He was appointed head coach of New Zealand on 20 July 2012, taking over from John Wright in August for their tour of India, and later extensions to his contract would have taken him through to the end of the

2019 Cricket World Cup The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 12th Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The tournament was hosted bet ...

, but Hesson announced his resignation on 7 June 2018, ending his tenure as one of the most successful coaches in the history of the national side. As coach, he led the New Zealand squad to finish as

runners-up A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

at the

2015 Cricket World Cup The 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 11th Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was jointly hosted by Aust ...

. Since 2023 he has been serving as the head coach of

Pakistan Super League The Pakistan Super League (PSL), also known as HBL PSL for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in Pakistan, organised by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Founded by the PCB in 2015, the league features six city-bas ...

franchise

Islamabad United Islamabad United () is a Pakistani professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that competes in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The team is based in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, and was formed in 2015 to compete in the first ...

. As a coach, he led them to the championship in Pakistan Super League 2024 edition.

Early life

Hesson was born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

on 30 October 1974. He was educated at

Otago Boys' High School Otago Boys' High School (OBHS) is a secondary school in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is one of New Zealand's oldest boys' secondary schools. Originally known as Dunedin High School, it was founded on 3 August 1863 and moved to its present site in 18 ...

Coaching career

Otago

Kenya

Prior to his coaching stint with New Zealand, Hesson had served as the coach for Kenya's national cricket team, a position he resigned citing "security concerns".

New Zealand

He was appointed head coach of New Zealand on 20 July 2012, taking over from John Wright Hesson was criticised for his controversial recommendation that

Ross Taylor Luteru Ross Poutoa Lote Taylor (born 8 March 1984) is a former New Zealand international cricketer and former captain of the New Zealand national team. Batting predominantly at number four, when he announced his retirement from international ...

should surrender the captaincy in favour of

Brendon McCullum Brendon Barrie McCullum (born 27 September 1981) is a former New Zealand cricketer, and the current head coach of the England men's cricket team in all formats. Representing New Zealand, he captained the team in all formats. McCullum was renow ...

However, in 2013–14, Hesson mended the relationship with Taylor and took the BlackCaps to series wins in England and South Africa away, and West Indies and India at home. He also proved his talent for picking players who could translate domestic success into international success. This built momentum for the BlackCaps' revival, culminating in reaching the final of the

. The Black Caps' culture and style of play cultivated by Hesson and McCullum was transformative for cricket in New Zealand. In the

2015 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours were awarded as ...

Hesson and McCullum were appointed

Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

for services to cricket. In the 2017/2018 New Zealand summer the BlackCaps were inundated with plaudits as they achieved a New Zealand-record 13-match winning streak in completed games across all formats. From August 2012 to April 2018, when his reign culminated in a Test series win at home against England, Hesson's team played 53 Tests, won 21, lost 19 and drawn 13. By comparison, the 1980s had 59 Tests of which 17 were won, 15 lost and 27 drawn. In completed ODIs, Hesson oversaw 112 for 65 wins, 46 losses and a tie; the 1980s results were 122 played, 56 won and 66 lost. In Twenty20 internationals (not played in the 1980s), the figures were 56 completed games, with 30 wins, 24 losses and two ties. Hesson was New Zealand's longest serving cricket coach. He developed a reputation for being a paragon of calm and a brilliant man-manager, and for developing and maintaining an admirable team culture, all the while taking the BlackCaps to unprecedented success. In May 2018 Hesson was appointed as a coach representative on the International Cricket Council Cricket Committee. Despite his contract running until the end of

, Hesson announced his resignation in June 2018. On 3 January 2019 Hesson joined the Sky Sports commentary team for the home white ball series.

Indian Premier League and Pakistan Super League

Hesson also served as the head coach of IPL franchise

Kings XI Punjab The Punjab Kings, also known as PBKS, formerly known as Kings XI Punjab, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in New Chandigarh, Punjab, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is jointly owned by Mohit Burm ...

before stepping down on 8 August 2019. Subsequently, on 23 August 2019, he was appointed as the Director of Cricket Operations by the IPL franchise

Royal Challengers Bangalore The Royal Challengers Bengaluru, formerly Royal Challengers Bangalore, also known as RCB, are a professional Twenty20, Twenty20 cricket team based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2008 ...

. In 2023, Hesson was appointed as the Head Coach of a

(PSL) franchise

Pakistan

On 13 May 2025, the

Pakistan Cricket Board The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), formerly known as Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP), is a sports governing body for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan ...

(PCB) announced Hesson as the head coach for white-ball (ODIs and T20 Internationals) squads of the Pakistan men’s cricket team.

YouTube channel

In February 2024, Hesson started a

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel named "Coach Hesson". On this channel, Hesson uploads in-depth coaching analysis, previews, and match reviews. As of April 2025, the channel has over 31,500 subscribers.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hesson, Mike 1974 births Living people New Zealand cricket coaches Coaches of the Kenya national cricket team Cricketers from Dunedin Coaches of the New Zealand national cricket team Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit People educated at Otago Boys' High School