Major upheaval in Zimbabwe as head coach resigns

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 had 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.

“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.”

Houghton 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.”

For the upcoming white-ball tour of Sri Lanka, an interim technical team will be in charge of Zimbabwe.