Mike Hesson was appointed head coach of the New Zealand Cricket team Friday, replacing John Wright who will leave the role next month. New Zealand-born Hesson coached Otago province for six years before a short stint as Kenya coach. He left that role earlier this year, citing security fears after his family was victims of an attempted carjacking. His contract runs through the 2015 ICC World Cup jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand. The short list for the position reportedly included Hesson and Australians Trent Woodhill, currently an assistant to Wright, and Matthew Mott. “We were impressed with the way Mike presented himself and he was the stand-out applicant f,” said New Zealand’s director of cricket John Buchanan. From gulftoday