Mangongo bowled out TIME FOR A CHANGE . . . Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Wilson Manase stresses a point as he addresses a media conference in Harare yesterday where he announced the redeployment of coach Steve Mangongo from the national team to the Under-19 side
TIME FOR A CHANGE . . . Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Wilson Manase stresses a point as he addresses a media conference in Harare yesterday where he announced the redeployment of coach Steve Mangongo from the national team to the Under-19 side

TIME FOR A CHANGE . . . Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Wilson Manase stresses a point as he addresses a media conference in Harare yesterday where he announced the redeployment of coach Steve Mangongo from the national team to the Under-19 side

Caroline Magenga Sports Reporter
STEVE Mangongo lost his job as Zimbabwe cricket team coach yesterday, just five months after being ushered into the hot seat, and eight weeks before the start of the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup in New Zealand and Australia. Mangongo paid the price for a disastrous tour of Bangladesh where Zimbabwe suffered the humiliation of a 0-3 whitewash, in the Test series, and a 0-5 whitewash in the ODI series.

He is set to be replaced before the end of this month, with speculation rife that former Zimbabwe Test batsman Murray Goodwin will take over as coach.

Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Wilson Manase said his organisation was a results-oriented entity and those who did not fit the bill, in terms of delivering, will pay a price.

He said Mangongo will be re-assigned to the national Under-19 team, while a head coach and a batting expert will be employed before the World Cup to work in a coaching team that already has bowling coach Douglas Hondo.

ZC convener of selectors Givemore Makoni was spared the axe, but the selection team will now be widened to include the head coach, his assistant, the captain and Babu Meman, a long-serving administrator of the game.

Manase yesterday held another meeting with former Zimbabwe captain Alistair Campbell and it’s now very likely that the ex-skipper will soon be appointed as the Managing Director in charge of cricket affairs at ZC.

The ZC boss said their decision to look for another head coach was not a knee-jerk reaction to the events in Bangladesh, where the national team was humiliated on all fronts by the Tigers, but to find a man who could serve the team better in the long term.

Manase said ZC wanted a successful national team that should even be good enough to win the World Cup.

“You must understand and I will tell you Steven has been pivotal in the development of cricket and identifying talent and one name that comes to mind is Tatenda Taibu, who was identified through Steve’s structures. He’s good at that,” said Manase.

“He also delivered against Bangladesh some time ago last year when we won a series and against Australia here when we won a match, which was good, but what we are seeking is consistency.

“We believe he still has a role to play and have reassigned him to deal with the Under-19 and the technical committee will see what role he will play there.”

Mangongo took over as national coach from Andy Waller in July this year, but before the year ends, someone will have taken his job.

“We are having a process, which is identifying a new national coach who is going to be coming in and it might be an international figure or a local person,” said Manase.

“We will conclude our process after Christmas because it is demanding and some of these people will be flying in; so we will be letting you know who the person is in due course.”

The ZC boss said they were going to widen the selection panel currently being led by Makoni.

“We also decided to leave Givemore Makoni as the convener of selectors and in that role he will be assisted by the head coach, assistant coach, captain, and deputy selector so that we widen our selection panel,” he said.

In responding to questions that ZC were merely using Mangongo as a scapegoat for the humiliation in Bangladesh, Manase said they needed to make changes that would benefit the game in the long term.

“We say as a soldier he must accept redeployment, and when redeployed he will be told why and he polishes up; he’s still part of the system . . . but for now, going to this crucial stage, we need someone more senior, more experienced,” he said.

He also said the dismissal of the coach would not affect the preparations as the new coach would have ample time to familiarise himself with the players before the Cricket World Cup.

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