Zimbabwe head coach Dave Houghton on Wednesday (20th December) stepped down from his position. He ended his 18-month short stint, saying that players were not responding to his voice anymore and therefore had to take the harsh step.
Dave Houghton’s decision came keeping in mind his side’s poor outings in the T20 World Cup Qualifier and World Cup 2023 Qualifier. Not only this but under him Zimbabwe also lost ODIs and T20I series against Ireland.
Dave Houghton submitted his resignation to 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 outing head coach will soon be assigned a new role and it is expected that he might get a development role.
Dave Houghton became head coach of the Zimbabwe Cricket Team in June last year. However, the team didn’t do well under him. Therefore he was forced to give his resignation. In his place interim coaching staff will be taking charge of the team for the white-ball tour to Sri Lanka.
Dave Houghton spoke about his decision and stated that he has Zimbabwe cricket at heart. He expressed his desire to be part of the ZCB in some other capacity. Releasing the official statement, he explained:
“I have always had Zimbabwe cricket at heart and, though my coaching of the national team comes to an end, I would love to be involved in other areas. The talent base in Zimbabwe is enormous. How we move players from 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 Chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani
After Dave Houghton announced his decision to resign as head coach, Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani also spoke about the development. He called the outing coach a legend of the game and spoke about the future plans. He stated:
“While the past few months have been disappointing as we failed to qualify for both the 50-over World Cup and the T20 World Cup, they should not obscure all the work he has done over the past year to rebuild the foundations for long-term success. Dave leaves the team with our sincerest thanks for his tireless efforts and we are looking forward to working with him in a different role as we seek to change our on-field fortunes.”
After Dave Hougton’s resignation, Zimbabwe Cricket appointed a three-person committee to look into the team’s performance. The committee will be chaired by Lloyd Mhishi.
Zimbabwe Cricket Team will be next seen in action when they tour Sri Lanka for the white-ball series in January 2024. The two teams will be locking horns with each other in a three-match ODI and T20I series, to be played from 3rd to 18th January. It will be an opportunity for them to turn things around and get back on the winning track.
