Analysts call for wholesome changes within Zim Cricket
Story by Anashe Murombedzi, Sports Reporter
CRICKET analysts believe the resignation of Dave Houghton as national team coach should be a catalyst for a raft of changes within Zimbabwe Cricket.
When he came in, Houghton had an instant impact, qualifying the Chevrons for the T20 World Cup in Australia last year, but that has all gone down the drain as the national team has regressed in recent times.
The cricket legend pointed fingers at the management and players’ attitude in his resignation letter, prompting analysts to call for a revamp of the whole cricket system in Zimbabwe.
“I think it’s a combination of many things. We have realised that a whole bunch of coaches have come and gone under the same administrators of Zimbabwe Cricket, so in realistic terms, you begin to ask questions if the blame doesn’t necessarily rest on the administrator and now I feel that the administrator now needs to be less biased towards picking certain players from certain clubs rather than relying on certain members who have been loyal to them over 18 years,” said Zimbabwe Cricket analyst, Dean du Plessis.
Another analyst, Elton Phiri said, “We need that shift, we should bring new names, new faces who have a great knowledge in cricket and recycling rather than having the same team. It’s about time we created a template where we can weigh and manage accountable coaches, the technical team and players.”
Meanwhile, former coach Walter Chawaguta has been placed temporarily in charge of the team and is set to be assisted by Steve Kirby and Eric Chauluka.
Chawaguta, who coached the Chevrons back in 2008, will be in charge of the team for the upcoming tour to Sri Lanka.
