Dave Houghton still has undying love for Zimbabwe

Sports Reporter

IT is almost three months since it was announced that Dave Houghton had tendered his resignation after an eventful 18-month-long spell as the Zimbabwe Chevrons’ head coach.

Since then, the position has remained vacant.

Walter Chawaguta, now with the Lady Chevrons, briefly held the position on an interim basis.

However, those expecting Houghton to come out guns blazing with a tell-all interview on circumstances leading to his departure are going to be disappointed.

The 66-year-old gaffer has no qualms about his exit.

In fact, he only has good things to say about his most recent spell in the Chevrons’ dugout.

“Firstly, let me clear one thing: I resigned as head coach but I didn’t resign from Zimbabwe cricket,” said Houghton.

“The results weren’t very good and I had to find ways to get better results. There weren’t any more players coming to change things for me, and that is when it hit me that we needed to coach better. The only quick way to get better results was to change the coach.”

He went on to reveal how the coaching job was never meant to be a long-term deal.

“My passion has always been Zimbabwe cricket. My true love has always been in coaching, coach education and how much I can help in that area.

“Before I became head coach, I was working for Zimbabwe Cricket, and some projects were still ongoing when I got the call to come and coach the national team.

“It wasn’t something I had planned to do, but I couldn’t say no. I knew it was going to be a short-term stint, as I wanted to get back into the other stuff in the coach education department.”

After answering the call, Houghton became a transformative figure in the dressing room.

What followed was a period of the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.

He now has opted to focus on the brighter side of his entire experience.

“I reckon, in these last 18 or so months, I have probably had more fun and made more memories from Zimbabwe cricket than I could have ever imagined,” he said.

“When we were playing well and had the whole country behind us, jumping up and down and singing songs in the stands, that was very special for me.

“The way our guys celebrated in the changing room, it was just fantastic. I will never forget that,” added Houghton.

He also feels indebted to Zimbabwe cricket.

“I will never forget Zimbabwe as it gave me my best years. I think I was given the best chance here. This is where I started and I always feel the need to repay, because if it wasn’t for that, I’m not sure of where I would have ended up.

“I’m going to be involved again but for now, I need to get back to what I was doing in the first place.

“I need to check the coaching programme, really give it a good shake, and make sure we are teaching the right things and producing the right cricketers.”