Justin Sammons, who has worked extensively in South African cricket over the years, has been appointed the new head coach of the Zimbabwe men's national team. Former Zimbabwe international Dion Ebrahim has been brought in as the assistant coach.
"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. "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."
The update came during the course of the T20 World Cup 2024, which Zimbabwe are not a part of, having failed to make the grade from the qualifying tournament. Zimbabwe have now missed three out of the last four World Cups - ODIs and T20Is - and will have to go through a qualifying tournament for the T20 World Cup 2026. They will, however, qualify automatically for the ODI World Cup 2027, being co-hosts.
Sammons, who was earlier with CSA's high-performance unit and has worked with several domestic sides in South Africa, was part of the South Africa men's technical team as batting consultant between 2021 and 2023.
"I look forward to the road ahead and I am excited to start working with this talented group of players," Sammons, who called the appointment a "privilege", said.
Dave Houghton, the former Zimbabwe captain, had served as the national team's head coach for 18 months before resigning after Zimbabwe's failure to qualify for the T20 World Cup 2024. Walter Chawaguta, who coached Zimbabwe in 2008, took over as interim coach after that.
Ebrahim, meanwhile, has represented Zimbabwe in 29 Tests and 82 ODIs between 2001 and 2005, and has been a part of the backroom staff with the New Zealand senior men's team more recently.
The rest of the support staff for the Zimbabwe team will be appointed in consultation with Sammons, ZC said in a statement, while adding that Elton Chigumbura, the former captain of Zimbabwe, had been appointed head coach of the nation's Under-19 team. Norbert Manyande, who played first-class cricket in Zimbabwe before going on to feature for Namibia, was named as his assistant and batting coach, while former South Africa bowler Paul Adams will be the bowling coach.