Mehluli Sibanda in BULAWAYO

HEATH Streak promised to deliver for his nation yesterday after he was unveiled as head coach of the Zimbabwe cricket team. The 42-year-old was the leading candidate to take over from the sacked Australian Dav Whatmore and is a popular appointment after having received the endorsement of the country’s mainstream media in the past few days.

He will lead a technical team that features two South Africans, Makhaya Ntini (bowling coach) and Lance Klusener (batting coach), with Streak saying in a statement released by Zimbabwe Cricket, he was happy to work with his backroom staff.

Streak was engaged on a two-year deal on a mission to help Zimbabwe qualify for the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup in England.

He quit his post as the Bangladesh bowling coach,where he made a huge impact in May this year.

Zimbabwe Cricket boss Tavengwa Mukuhlani is convinced they have gone for the best candidate for the job and hailed Ntini for the job he has done steering the ship on an interim basis.

“This is one of the last steps in our technical department to bring in a head coach to fill in the vacancy that was left by Dav Whatmore,” said Mukuhlani.

“Zimbabwe Cricket would want to convey its gratitude and many thanks to Makhaya Ntini for the job that he has done from the time that he took over looking after the team, he went through some difficult series against India, he then took the team through New Zealand, some good results were posted against India in the T20 series it was a close series, we saw an improvement in the Test series against New Zealand, as you are aware we were coming from a so-to-speak exile of playing the longer version of the game.

“It is our belief as a board that in him we have brought in the right candidate, in him we have brought the finest of Zimbabwe in terms of professionalism, he comes in to assist and assist a system that is in place, we hope to see the fortunes of the team turn around, he is not new to the system, we are very confident we have landed the right candidate for the job.”

Streak described it as a huge task, but promised to do his best.“For me, having captained this country to be offered the post of head coach is a great honour and I know with it comes responsibility not just to the players, but to the supporters and fans of Zimbabwe cricket,” he said.

“My promise is that I will leave no stone unturned in terms of our endeavour and quest to improve the team’s performances.“I believe that we have the resources here in Zimbabwe to do just that, planning is obviously going to be a major factor, we do have a lack of cricket, I know ZC are addressing that issue at the moment, but I feel with the upcoming series and the latter half of next year we have some really good cricket coming up so we can really work towards improving that.”

His immediate mission is to gear up the national team for the two Test matches against Sri Lanka at the end of this month.Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka will be joined by West Indies for a triangular series whose final is at Queens Sports Club.

To get the job, Streak shrugged off the challenge of his former teammate Andy Blignaut, the South African duo of Peter Kirsten and Eric Simons.Another South African, Mandla Mashimbyi, the assistant coach at Titans had applied for the Zimbabwean job, but did not pitch up for the interviews.

Streak’s illustrious playing career saw him turn out for Zimbabwe, Matabeleland, Africa Eleven, Hampshire, Warwickshire (both England) and Ahmedabad Rockets in the now defunct Indian Cricket League.Streak was national team bowling coach from 2010 to 2013 and coached Matabeleland Tuskers to winning the Logan Cup during the 2012 /13 season.

He was bowling consultant for New Zealand side Auckland Aces during the 2012 Twenty20 Champions League in South Africa, bowling coach for Bangladesh from 2014 to this year and was also bowling mentor for Gujarat Lions in the Indian Premier League.

Mukuhlani pointed out that with the whole cricketing world coming to a standstill during the lucrative seven-week IPL, there is no way ZC cannot release Streak to work with the Gujarat Lions.

You Might Also Like

Comments

Take our Survey

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey