Following Zimbabwe’s failure to qualify
for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup to be played next year at West Indies/USA in
June, head coach Dave Houghton has resigned from the post in the aftermath of
their failure to reach short format cricket’s marquee event.
As per ICC, Houghton submitted his
resignation from the post of the senior Zimbabwe men’s team head coach, and the
board accepted it with immediate effect.
In the aftermath of Zimbabwe’s failure
to qualify for the T20 World Cup 2024 through the Africa Region Qualifier,
Zimbabwe Cricket formed a three-member committee chaired by Lloyd Mhishi, to
probe into the causes of the World Cup qualification failure.
Zimbabwe had lost to Uganda and Namibia
in the Qualifier, and finished third on the points table, whereas a top-two
finish was necessary to qualify for the global tournament.
Houghton stated in his resignation
letter, that he felt that a “new voice” was needed to take the side forward.
The 66-year-old added that he had “lost the changeroom” after 18 months in
charge.
ZC Chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani thanked
Houghton for his tireless effort with the Zimbabwe side. He also added that
Houghton would continue to work with the board in a different capacity.
“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,” said Mukuhlani as
quoted by ICC.
“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,” he added.
Houghton, who played 22 Tests and 63
ODIs for Zimbabwe between 1983-1997 and also was their captain, believed that
he could be involved in other projects with ZC.
“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,” he said.
For the upcoming white-ball tour of Sri
Lanka, an interim technical team will be in charge of Zimbabwe.
ANI
