Zimbabwe Cricket To Restructure After World Cup Qualification Woes, Hire New Coaches

Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has decided to effect far-reaching changes in both its domestic and development pathway following failure to qualify for the 2023 Men's ODI World Cup and the 2024 Men's T20 World Cup. As a first step, the ZC board, which met on Saturday, decided to appoint 51-year-old former first-class player Walter Chawaguta as the head coach of the senior women's national team and accepted the resignation of U19 men's national team head coach Prosper Utseya. It also decided to appoint the senior and U19 men's team coaches on an urgent basis.

A ZC statement said that the board had "adopted the comprehensive report presented by a committee of inquiry that was established to probe Zimbabwe's World Cup qualification failures as well as to review ZC's cricket affairs structure".

The three-member committee was headed by lawyer Lloyd Mhishi.

"The three-member Committee, chaired by Lloyd Mhishi, presented its report to the board after gathering input from various stakeholders, both internal and external... the board resolved to adopt the report in its entirety and to immediately implement the committee's recommendations," the statement added.

Among the recommendations accepted by ZC board are a complete restructuring of the cricket affairs department and its personnel, overhaul of the domestic and development pathway, advertising for the head coach's job for the national senior men's and U19 teams and restructuring of the coaching set-up at first-class level.

ZC also plans to establish a national academy and set up indoor training facilities in all its five first-class provinces.

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