Streak shocked by sacking as Zimbabwe coach

Coach Heath Streak said he was shocked after Zimbabwe Cricket sacked him in a backroom clear-out in the wake of the team’s failure to qualify for the 2019 World Cup. Streak has been widely praised for improving the results of the side during his 18 months in charge, and exits along with his technical team, while captain Graeme Cremer has also reportedly been axed. "It is with great regret and shock that I was told by ZC that myself and my coaching team must resign by 3pm (Friday), failing which we would be fired," Streak said in a statement.

A "shocked" Heath Streak says he has been sacked as Zimbabwe's head coach, but their cricket board are yet to comment.

Full story: https://t.co/p0w0BtnCRq pic.twitter.com/ryi0EgWfPg— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) March 31, 2018

"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." ZC has had a clear-out of all backroom staff amid reports of financial difficulty, including batting coach Lance Klusener, Zimbabwe A coach Wayne James and U-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," Streak said.

So @ZimCricketv sack the entire coaching staff because they didn’t qualify for next years @cricketworldcup 2019 in England. WOW that’s hectic and I really thought that Heath Streak was doing a good job with this group of players.

— Allan Donald (@AllanDonald33) March 30, 2018

"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..." The undoubted highlight of Streak’s tenure was a 3-2 ODI series win in Sri Lanka last year, while his 32 matches in the format produced 12 wins and 17 losses. But he was also left embarrassed by a innings defeat to South Africa inside two days at the end of 2017 in a day/night Test match in Port Elizabeth, while a three-run loss to the United Arab Emirates in the World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe saw his side fail to reach the 10-team tournament finals in England and Wales. ZC told Reuters that it would release a statement on the matter later Saturday.