Justin Sammons named head coach of Zimbabwe’s men’s cricket team

Harare, June 20

Zimbabwe Cricket said Wednesday it had appointed South African Justin Sammons as its new men’s head coach.

Sammons was a former batting coach with his home country’s national team, the Proteas.

Dave Houghton resigned as Zimbabwe’s head coach last year after the country failed to qualify for the ongoing Twenty20 World Cup in the US and West Indies.

Sammons will lead Zimbabwe for the first time in a five-match T20 series against India in Zimbabwe beginning July 6 in Harare, where all the T20s are being played.

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.

“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 of identifying, nurturing and developing some of the best young talent in South Africa,” Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani said in a statement.