By Cricbuzz

SOUTH African Justin Sammons has been appointed as the head coach of the Zimbabwe senior men’s team, Zimbabwe Cricket announced on Wednesday (June 19) following a board meeting.

Sammons’s appointment as full time head coach comes more than six months after Dave Houghton stepped down from the role in the wake of Zimbabwe failing to qualify for the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. Sammons will be supported by former Zimbabwe cricketer Dion Ebrahim, who joins the team as the assistant coach.

After Houghton’s resignation, Walter Chawaguta was with the team as interim head coach during their tour of Sri Lanka in January this year. Stuart Matsikenyeri served in a similar capacity for the Zimbabwe team during their tour of Bangladesh in May.

Sammons had earlier been part of South Africa’s high-performance programme and has worked with several domestic teams. He was also the batting consultant of the South Africa team between 2021 and 2023.

Ebrahim, who represented Zimbabwe in 29 Tests and 82 ODIs, later pursued a coaching career in New Zealand and was also involved with the Black Caps. The rest of the support staff for the Zimbabwe team will be appointed in consultation with Sammons, ZC revealed.

“We are delighted to confirm Justin as Head Coach of the Zimbabwe Senior Men’s National Team,” said ZC chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani.

“He brings a wealth of coaching experience and a reputation of identifying, nurturing and developing some of the best young talent in South Africa. His hard-working and passionate approach as well as sense of values on and off the pitch make him the ideal person to take us forward.”

Speaking about his new role, Sammons said: “It is an absolute privilege to be appointed as the Zimbabwe Senior Men’s National Team Head Coach. I look forward to the road ahead and I am excited to start working with this talented group of players.”

ZC also announced that Elton Chigumbura, the former Zimbabwe captain, will take over as the head coach of the Zimbabwe men’s Under-19 team. He’s joined by Rangarirai Norbert Manyande who will play the dual role of assistant coach and batting coach. Manyande had played first-class cricket in Zimbabwe before representing Namibia. Paul Adams, the former South Africa spinner, will be the bowling coach.