New Coaching Appointments for Zimbabwe Cricket
In a move to bolster their national team’s coaching setup, Zimbabwe Cricket has announced the appointment of Justin Sammons as the new head coach of the Zimbabwe men’s national team. Additionally, former Zimbabwe international Dion Ebrahim has been brought in as the assistant coach.
“Tavengwa Mukuhlani, the Zimbabwe Cricket chairman, expressed delight in welcoming Sammons to the role, highlighting his wealth of coaching experience and a proven track record of identifying and developing young talent in South Africa. Mukuhlani praised Sammons’ hard-working and passionate approach, as well as his strong sense of values, making him the ideal candidate to lead Zimbabwe’s national team forward.”
Sammons, who previously worked with Cricket South Africa’s high-performance unit and has experience with several domestic sides in South Africa, was also part of the South Africa men’s technical team as a batting consultant between 2021 and 2023. He expressed his excitement to start working with the “talented group of players” in Zimbabwe.
Missed World Cup Qualifications and Upcoming Tournaments
The announcement comes during the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024, which Zimbabwe failed to qualify for. The team has missed three out of the last four World Cups, both ODI and T20I, and will need to go through a qualifying tournament for the T20 World Cup 2026. However, they will automatically qualify for the ODI World Cup 2027, as co-hosts.
Departures and Interim Coaching
Former Zimbabwe captain Dave Houghton had served as the national team’s head coach for 18 months before resigning after the team’s failure to qualify for the T20 World Cup 2024. Walter Chawaguta, who coached Zimbabwe in 2008, took over as the interim coach after Houghton’s departure.
Dion Ebrahim’s Appointment as Assistant Coach
Dion Ebrahim, who represented Zimbabwe in 29 Tests and 82 ODIs between 2001 and 2005, has been brought in as the assistant coach. Ebrahim has more recently been a part of the backroom staff with the New Zealand senior men’s team.
Additional Appointments
Zimbabwe Cricket has announced several other appointments to the national team’s support staff:
- Elton Chigumbura, the former captain of Zimbabwe, has been appointed as the head coach of the nation’s Under-19 team.
- Norbert Manyande, who played first-class cricket in Zimbabwe before representing Namibia, has been named as Chigumbura’s assistant and batting coach.
- Paul Adams, the former South Africa bowler, will serve as the bowling coach.
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