Justin Sammons has been appointed as the new head coach of the Zimbabwe senior men’s team after the team failed to qualify for the T20 World Cup 2024. Dave Houghton resigned as Zimbabwe’s head coach last year after the country failed to qualify for the ongoing T20 World Cup.
Sammons previously worked with South Africa’s high-performance program and served as the Proteas’ batting consultant from 2021-2023 and also has experience working with several domestic sides in South Africa.
“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.
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,” Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani said in a statement.
Sammons will be assisted by former Zimbabwe international Dion Ebrahim. Dion Ebrahim, a former Zimbabwe batter, is Sammons’ assistant coach. Ebrahim represented Zimbabwe in 29 tests and 82 ODIs between 2001 and 2005 and has been a part of the coaching staff with the New Zealand senior men’s team.
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.”
Apart from the major change, the cricket board roped former Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura named head coach of the Under-19 side.
Rangarirai Norbert Manyande, who represented both Zimbabwe and Namibia, will serve as Chigumbura’s assistant and batting coach, while the experienced Paul Adams joins as bowling coach.
Sammons and Ebrahim’s first assignment as coaches will be to prepare a competitive squad for a match T20I series against India in Harare, starting from July 6 to July 14.
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