Zimbabwe coach Dave Houghton confirmed his resignation with immediate effect, citing the collapse of his relationship with the players following the team’s failure to qualify for the 2024 World Cup, where they lost to Namibia and Uganda.
Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) made the announcement on Wednesday but said Houghton, considered one of the country’s most accomplished former players, will remain within the organization in an as yet unspecified role.
In his resignation letter to the ZC board, Houghton said he had “missed the change room” after 18 months in charge and felt a “fresh voice” was needed to take the team forward.
“Although the last few months have been disappointing as we failed to qualify for both the Over-50 World Cup and the T20 World Cup, they should not overshadow all the work he (Houghton) has done over the past year to rebuild the foundations for the World Cup,” the ZC boss said. “Long-term success,” Tafenjawa Mokohlane said in a statement.
“Dave leaves the team with our sincere thanks for his tireless efforts and we look forward to working with him in a different role as we seek to turn our fortunes around on the pitch.”
A provisional technical squad will soon be appointed for Zimbabwe’s tour of Sri Lanka in January to take part in a white-ball series.
The ZC Board also appointed a three-member committee chaired by Lloyd Maheshi to investigate failures in the World Cup qualifiers as well as review the structure of ZC’s cricket affairs. The committee is scheduled to submit its report within three weeks.
(Reporting by Nick Said; Editing by Christian Radnedge)