Walter Chawaguta appointed as Zimbabwe coach

Walter Chawaguta, the former Zimbabwe Under-19 coach, has taken charge of the national team, Cricinfo has learnt. Chawaguta replaces Robin Brown, whose contract expired in July, making him the third person to coach Zimbabwe in a year.

Chawaguta, 35, is regarded as a decent coach but hopelessly raw and the consensus is that he cannot hope to stand up to the more political elements within the board who are pushing to control selection and impose racial quotas. His appointment is more down to the need to be seen to act quickly and also the acceptance that in the present climate, Zimbabwe Cricket cannot hope to attract any overseas coaches.

After playing one first-class game for Mashonaland in 1997-98, Chawaguta turned to coaching, first with the U-19s and then the A team. He was briefly a selector in 2004, and was a contender for the national coach in 2005, but lost out to Kevin Curran. Chawaguta, though, was part of the national set-up as Brown's assistant when he took over in August, 2007.