Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) opted for the extreme measures by sacking the captain, Graeme Cremer, along with the backroom staffs including coach Heath Streak after their World Cup qualifying fiasco. According to the coach, he was shocked when ZC asked him to resign alongside his coaching team.

“It is with great regret and shock that I was told by ZC that myself and my coaching team must resign by 3 pm yesterday (Friday), failing which we would be fired,” Streak said in a statement.

“I chose not to resign as I believe this to be degrading to our national players and my technical team. As a result, we have been dismissed with immediate effect,” he added.

Despite the financial difficulties of the board itself, Streak & Co. kept working with the team and had produced a series of positive outcomes during their 18-month stint. However, the backroom staffs have been fired including batting coach Lance Klusener, Zimbabwe A coach Wayne James and Under-19 coach Stephen Mangongo, while convener of selectors Tatenda Taibu has also been axed.

“Thank you to my staff who worked tirelessly, often going for months unpaid and having had two pay-cuts during their tenure, but still had that unwavering professional commitment.”

To Graeme and all the players, thank you for your patriotism and commitment to our Chevrons team. I wish you all the very best for the future. I am deeply saddened that my journey with you ends here. Hopefully, our paths will meet again in future,” Streak concluded.