Harare, Jun 20 (IANS): Zimbabwe Cricket has appointed former South African Justin Sammons as head coach of the men's national team with immediate effect.

Sammons, who over the years has done sterling work with South Africa’s high-performance programme as well as with several domestic sides, was part of the Proteas technical team as batting consultant between 2021 and 2023.

Sammons' appointment comes six months after Dave Houghton stepped down from the role following Zimbabwe's failure to qualify for the T20 World Cup 2024. Zimbabwe have named former cricketer Dion Ebrahim as assistant coach. Ebrahim has represented Zimbabwe in 29 Tests and 82 one-day internationals before he later pursued a coaching career in New Zealand where has been involved at the highest level with the Black Caps.

“It is an absolute privilege to be appointed as the Zimbabwe Senior Men’s National Team Head Coach. I look forward to the road ahead and I am excited to start working with this talented group of players," Sammons said in a statement.

The rest of the technical staff for the senior men’s side will be appointed in consultation with Sammons, Zimbabwe Cricket said.

"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."

Former Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura has been named as head coach of the Zimbabwe U-19 men’s national team. Rangarirai Norbert Manyande, who played first-class cricket in Zimbabwe before he went on to feature for Namibia, was named as his assistant and batting Coach, while former South Africa star Paul Adams will be the bowling coach.