Justin Sammons appointed Zimbabwe head coach, Dion Ebrahim to be assistant coach
The Zimbabwe cricket board has announced the appointment of former South African cricketer Justin Sammons as the head coach of the Zimbabwe men’s cricket team. Furthermore, former Zimbabwe batter Dion Ebrahim has been appointed as the assistant coach.
Sammons replaces Dave Houghton as the head coach of the Zimbabwe cricket team. Houghton resigned after Zimbabwe failed to qualify for the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. In addition, Walter Chawaguta, who had coached Zimbabwe in 2008, took over as interim coach.
Sammons’ first international assignment will be the five-match T20 series against India that commences on July 6 in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe Cricket Chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani said Sammon’s experience coaching and developing talent will augur well for the national team. “We are delighted to confirm Justin as head coach of the Zimbabwe senior men’s national team. He brings a wealth of coaching experience and a reputation for identifying, nurturing and developing some of the best young talent in South Africa,” he said in his statement.
Sammons has worked with Cricket South Africa’s high-performance unit and has also been on the support staff of many domestic teams in the country. He also contributed as a batting consultant for the South African men’s team between 2021 and 2023.
The head coach’s assistant, Ebrahim, played for Zimbabwe in 29 tests and 82 ODIs between 2001 and 2005. He also has coaching experience after being a member of the coaching staff with the New Zealand senior men’s team.
Sammon’s next goal would be to help Zimbabwe qualify for the ICC World Cup. Zimbabwe missed out on qualifying for the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024 after losing the qualifiers to Uganda.
Zimbabwe has now missed three out of the last four World Cups and will have to go through the qualifiers again to play in the T20 World Cup in 2026. However, they will be a part of the ICC ODI World Cup in 2027, as they are the co-hosts.