Taylor surprised at Wright's decision

Black Caps captain Ross Taylor can't quite believe John Wright is stepping down as coach.

Wright will end his tenure after the West Indies tour in July, rejecting New Zealand Cricket's offer to extend his contract.

He will have only been in the job 18 months when he leaves.

Taylor says he was sure Wright would stay on.

"The more it got dragged out the more confident I got that he would stay on. It is disappointing but we've still got a tour to West Indies coming up."

He says while Wright's differences with Director of Cricket John Buchanan may have been a tipping point for him to leave, their relationship never affected the team.

While his time at the helm may be ending Wright's days of mentoring the Black Caps are not over yet.

Taylor says he will continue to turn to Wright for advice after he ends his time as coach.

"He's got a very good cricketing brain and I'm sure he'll still be around the traps somewhere and I'm sure I'll get his advice on different aspects of the team and how I'm going."