David Houghton
| David Laud Houghton | |
|---|---|
| Born | David Laud Houghton June 23, 1957 Bulawayo |
| Nationality | Zimbabwean |
| Known for | Zimbabwean cricket coach and former cricketer. |
David Laud Houghton is a former Zimbabwean cricketer and the current head coach of Zimbabwe men's national cricket team, the Chevrons.
Background
Houghton was born in Bulawayo in the then Rhodesia on 23 June 1957.[1]
Career
Playing Career
He joined the police force to be able to provide for his family before later turning his attention to cricket.[2]
Houghton was Zimbabwe's hockey goalkeeper for many years and former Pakistan forward Kaleemullah Khan regarded Houghton as the greatest goalkeeper he played against.
He made his international debut, aged 25, along with 10 other Zimbabwean cricketers at Trent Bridge against Australia in the 1983 World Cup, a match which was Zimbabwe's first ODI. He scored two fifties in the competition.
Houghton captained Zimbabwe in their first-ever Test match in 1992 against India in Harare and scored 121.[3]
He became the first-ever Zimbabwean to score a test century. He also became the oldest cricketer to score a hundred on his Test debut, aged 35 years and four months.
Houghton captained the Zimbabwe side during the 1992 Cricket World Cup in his third World Cup tournament.
He announced his retirement from all cricket in December 1997 at the age of 40. Houghton cited recurrent knee injuries that plagued him in the latter stage of his career.
Coaching Career
Houghton was the national head coach of the Zimbabwe men's national cricket team during the 1990s.
During his tenure as head coach, Zimbabwe reached the Super Six round of the 1999 Cricket World Cup.
Houghton coached Radlett Cricket Club in Hertfordshire before becoming the coach of Derbyshire County Cricket Club in the United Kingdom.
In 2009, he was appointed as technical director of the Zimbabwe national team and age-group coaches on a part-time basis.[4]
In October 2021, Houghton was appointed Zimbabwe Cricket coaching manager and was responsible for "the development and implementation of coaching programmes across all formats and levels as well as design and run special cricket camps, with the ultimate aim being to help coaches to get the best out of players."[5]
In June 2022, Houghton was appointed as the national coach of the Zimbabwean national cricket team and replaced Lalchand Rajput, who assumed a new role as technical director.[6]
Achievements
- Captained Zimbabwe in their inaugural test match.
- Scored a century on test debut.
- First ever Zimbabwean to score a test century.
- Fastest Zimbabwean test cricketer to reach 1 000 test runs (24 innings).
- Holds the record for the highest test score by a Zimbabwean (266 against Sri Lanka in 1994).
Further Reading
- ↑ Dave Houghton, cricbuzz, Published: No Date was Given, Retrieved: 27 June 2023
- ↑ Abhishek Kumar, Dave Houghton: 10 facts about the multi-faceted Zimbabwean, Cricket Country, Published: 23 June 2017, Retrieved: 27 June 2023
- ↑ Zimbabwe vs India Full Scorecard, ESPN cricinfo, Published: 18 October 1992, Retrieved: 27 June 2023
- ↑ Steven Price, Houghton returns to Zimbabwe in coaching role, ESPN cricinfo1, Published: 30 March 2009, Retrieved: 27 June 2023
- ↑ Dave Houghton appointed Zimbabwe Cricket coaching manager, cricbuzz1, Published: 15 October 2021, Retrieved: 27 June 2023
- ↑ Zimbabwe: Former captain Dave Houghton named new head coach, BBC, Published: 14 June 2022, Retrieved: 27 June 2023
