Zimbabwe cricket team coach Alan Butcher says he wants to remain in charge of the national side beyond March next year when his current contract expires.
Report by Daniel Nhakaniso The 58-year-old Englishman signed a three-year deal with Zimbabwe Cricket in 2010, replacing Walter Chawaguta. Although he said he was committed to extending his tenure with the side, his fate is in the hands of Zimbabwe Cricket.
Butcher made the comments a day after his side’s 82-run defeat to Sri Lanka in their opening ICC World Twenty20 match and on the eve of yesterday’s tough encounter against South Africa.
“My contract runs out in March and I can see myself staying around for longer. But we need some results to put a case forward,” Butcher told the BBC on Wednesday.
Butcher, who is credited for reviving Zimbabwean cricket since the team’s successful return to Test cricket, said he had enjoyed his stay in the country. “I’ve really enjoyed it. I enjoy Harare, I enjoy the country and I enjoy the people. I’ve looked on it as a bit of an adventure, I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do, and I still feel good about it.”
He presided over the national team’s return to Test cricket in August 2011 when they won a one-off Test against Bangladesh, after a self-imposed six-and-a-half-year period from the longest format.
In one-day internationals, Zimbabwe have played 35 matches under Butcher, winning 12 and losing 23, with one match ending in a no-result, while in Test matches the national side has managed just one win in four matches.
In Twenty20 Internationals, Zimbabwe are yet to win in 13 matches under Butcher, with the team’s only wins in the shortest format coming in the unofficial tri-series in June.
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While the statistics do not paint an entirely positive picture of his tenure, Butcher says he foresees a bright future ahead for local cricket.
“Providing the right decisions are made there is a bright future. I think that in a period of time if we can find enough finances and the right development processes, we can become a good side.”
