Dave Houghton resigns as Zimbabwe head coach

Dave Houghton has resigned as Zimbabwe men's head coach, 18 months after accepting the job last June. After Zimbabwe's failure to qualify for the T20 World Cup and their defeat in both the ODIs and T20I series to Ireland, Houghton told ESPNcricinfo he felt the players were "not responding to my voice anymore."

Walter Chawaguta, who coached Zimbabwe in 2008, will take over as interim coach for the tour of Sri Lanka in January. ZC announced that Chawaguta will lead a support staff that includes Stuart Matsikenyeri (assistant coach/batting coach), Steve Kirby (bowling coach), Erick Chauluka (fielding coach), Walter Karimanzira (fitness and conditioning trainer), Amato Machikicho (physiotherapist), Alistair Chambe (team doctor) and Mufaro Chiturumani (analyst).

Houghton will remain with ZC and will be reassigned to a different role at the organisation as he hopes to stay involved in the development of the country's cricketers.

"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," Houghton said in a ZC statement. "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."

ZC also indicated that they have parted ways with Houghton on good terms and chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani called him a "legend of our game," who the organisation "regrets," to let go from this role. "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," Mukuhlani said. "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."

Recent results are a major concern for Zimbabwe after they were defeated by Associate teams Namibia and Uganda at the recent T20 World Cup qualifier, where they became the only Full Member to miss out on the 2024 tournament. They also lost to Scotland at the ODI World Cup Qualifiers in July, which scuppered their hopes of participating in the recently concluded World Cup, despite winning the hearts of their nation. Zimbabwe had earlier in the competition beat West Indies and Houghton's methods seemed to be working. While they did not take Zimbabwe to the 50-over World Cup, the highlight of his time in charge was the 2022 T20 World Cup, when Zimbabwe made it through the first round and into the Super 12s and players credited him with giving them the "freedom," to express themselves.

That tournament is the only World Cup out of a possible five that Zimbabwe have featured in over the last five years. They missed out on the 2019 and 2023 50-over World Cups and 2021 and 2024 T20 World Cups. As a consequence of not being at the 2023 World Cup, they will also not play in the 2025 Champions Trophy, which leaves their next opportunity for a men's World Cup in 2026, at the T20 event. ZC has appointed a three-person committee, chaired by renowned lawyer Lloyd Mhishi, to look into the reasons behind the team's failure to qualify for major tournaments and review the current structure.