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Following Zimbabwe's failure to qualify for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup to be played next year at West Indies/USA in June, head coach Dave Houghton has resigned from the post in the aftermath of their failure to reach short format cricket's marquee event.
As per ICC, Houghton submitted his resignation from the post of the senior Zimbabwe men's team head coach, and the board accepted it with immediate effect. In the aftermath of Zimbabwe's failure to qualify for the T20 World Cup 2024 through the Africa Region Qualifier, Zimbabwe Cricket formed a three-member committee chaired by Lloyd Mhishi, to probe into the causes of the World Cup qualification failure. Zimbabwe had lost to Uganda and Namibia in the Qualifier, and finished third on the points table, whereas a top-two finish was necessary to qualify for the global tournament. Houghton stated in his resignation letter, that he felt that a "new voice" was needed to take the side forward. The 66-year-old added that he had "lost the changeroom" after 18 months in charge. ZC Chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani thanked Houghton for his tireless effort with the Zimbabwe side. He also added that Houghton would continue to work with the board in a different capacity. "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," said Mukuhlani as quoted by ICC. "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," he added. Houghton, who played 22 Tests and 63 ODIs for Zimbabwe between 1983-1997 and also was their captain, believed that he could be involved in other projects with ZC. "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. 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," he said. For the upcoming white-ball tour of Sri Lanka, an interim technical team will be in charge of Zimbabwe. (ANI)
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