Zimbabwe head coach Dave Houghton on Wednesday (December 20) resigned from his position. He ended his brief 18-month stint, saying that the players were no longer responding to his voice and therefore they had to take the harsh measure.
Dave Houghton’s decision was made considering his team’s poor performances in the T20 World Cup Qualifier and the 2023 World Cup Qualifier. Not only this, but under him, Zimbabwe also lost the series ODI and T20I against Ireland.
Dave Houghton tendered his resignation from the Zimbabwe Cricket Board during a meeting on Wednesday. The governing body accepted his letter but told him that he would be part of the ZCB. The outgoing head coach will soon be given a new role and is expected to get a development role.
Dave Houghton became head coach of the Zimbabwe cricket team in June last year. However, the team did not do well with him. So he was forced to resign. In his place, the interim coaching staff will take charge of the team for the white ball tour to Sri Lanka.
Dave Houghton spoke about his decision and stated that he cares about Zimbabwe cricket. He expressed his desire to join the ZCB in some other capacity. When publishing the official statement, he explained:
“I have always had Zimbabwean cricket close to my heart and although my job as a national team coach comes to an end, I would love to be involved in other areas. The talent base in Zimbabwe is huge. How we take players from being talented to performing well on the international stage is a great project to be involved in.”
Dave Houghton is a legend of our game – ZCB President Tavengwa Mukuhlani
After Dave Houghton announced his decision to step down as head coach, Zimbabwe Cricket president Tavengwa Mukuhlani also spoke about the development. He termed the coach as a legend of the game and spoke about future plans. He stated:
“While the last few months have been disappointing as we failed to qualify for either the 50-over World Cup or the T20 World Cup, they should not overshadow all the work he has put in over the past year to rebuild the foundations for the long term. success. 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 look to turn our fortunes around on the field.”
After Dave Hougton’s resignation, Zimbabwe Cricket appointed a three-person committee to examine the team’s performance. The committee will be chaired by Lloyd Mhishi.
The Zimbabwe cricket team will next be seen in action when they tour Sri Lanka for the white-ball series in January 2024. The two teams will face off in a three-match ODI and T20I series, to be played from 3 to 3. January 18. It will be an opportunity for them to change things and return to the winning path.
