The national board announced on Wednesday that Zimbabwe coach Dave Houghton had resigned following his country’s elimination from the T20 World Cup the following year.
“The Zimbabwe Cricket Board has accepted Dave Houghton’s resignation from his position as head coach of the Zimbabwe senior men’s national team with immediate effect,” the board stated in a statement.
“Houghton said he had ‘lost the change room’ after 18 months in charge and felt that a ‘new voice’ was needed to take the team forward,” the statement continued.
His letter of resignation was submitted on Wednesday, right before a board meeting to review the World Cup campaign. Zimbabwe was defeated in a recent qualification tournament by Namibia and Uganda.
Additionally, Zimbabwe recently lost to Ireland in a limited-overs series.
After six one-day and Twenty20 matches against Afghanistan at home, Houghton, 66, took over as Zimbabwe’s coach in June of last year, succeeding Lalchand Rajput.
According to the board, he will take on a “new role within the organisation”.
Board chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani remarked, “Dave will always be a legend of our game and it is with regret that he felt the change room needed a new voice.”
“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.”
“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,” said Houghton, who led the squad in their first four Test matches and 17 one-day internationals.
“Zimbabwe has a huge talent pool. It’s a terrific endeavor to work on how we take players from being gifted to competing well on the global scene.”
The board said that a January tour to Sri Lanka would include the appointment of an interim management team.
Additionally, a committee has been created and given a three-week deadline to investigate the national organization and the World Cup’s shortcomings.