List of Zimbabwe national cricket captains explained

Zimbabwe became a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) on 6 July 1992, thereby gaining the right to play Test matches. It had previously become an associate member of the ICC on 21 July 1981, a year after the country's internationally recognised independence. Before this, Rhodesia had competed in the South African Currie Cup domestic competition. Since joining the ICC, Zimbabwe have had seven Test captains, fourteen One Day International captains and two Twenty20 captains, along with a number of youth captains.

Before becoming a full member of the ICC, Zimbabwe played in the 1983 Cricket World Cup, when, under the captaincy of Duncan Fletcher, they beat Australia, and in the 1987 Cricket World Cup under the captaincy of John Traicos, who had previously played Test cricket for South Africa. Upon full membership, David Houghton captained the side in Zimbabwe's first Test matches, as well as in the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Andy Flower, the most successful batsman Zimbabwe has produced, captained the side to their first Test win against Pakistan in 1995.^[1] He was followed as captain by Alistair Campbell. Under his captaincy, the side achieved its first Test series win in 1998 and, in the 1999 Cricket World Cup, passed the first round for the first time.

After Campbell's resignation for "personal reasons",^[2] fast bowler Heath Streak became captain. While Test success—except against newcomers Bangladesh—remained elusive, the side once again reached the second round of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, when they co-hosted the tournament. Not long after this tournament, however, the Zimbabwe Cricket Union sacked Streak, prompting 14 other players to walk out, leaving Tatenda Taibu as captain in the age of 20.^[3] During his tenure as captain, the side suffered its first defeat to Bangladesh and failed to win a single Test. Further political problems led to Taibu's resignation in 2006. At this point, Zimbabwe withdrew from playing Test matches.^[4] Since the Test withdrawal, several players have captained the one day side, although none has achieved significant success. The side is once again competing in the South African domestic competition under the captaincy of Hamilton Masakadza. Zimbabwe has regained its test status in 2011.

Men's cricket

Test match captains

As of February 2023, 12 cricketers have captained the Zimbabwean cricket team for at least one Test match. The table of results is complete to the second Test against West Indies on 14 February 2023, the last Test in which Zimbabwe have played.^[5] ^[6] Where a player has a dagger (†) next to a Test match series in which he captained at least one Test, that denotes that player deputised for the appointed captain or was appointed for a minor proportion in a series.

Zimbabwe played their first Test match, after regaining their Test status, against Bangladesh at the Harare Sports Club in Harare. The only Test started on Thursday 4 August 2011. Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field first. Zimbabwe won the Test on day five by 130 runs. Since then they won three Tests more, two against Bangladesh and one against Pakistan.

Number	Name	Year(s)^[7]	Opposition	Location	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn
1	David Houghton	1992/93		Zimbabwe	1	0	0	1
		1992/93		Zimbabwe	2	0	1	1
		1992/93		India	1	0	1	0
		Total			4	0	2	2
2	Andy Flower	1993/94		Pakistan	3	0	2	1
		1994/95		Zimbabwe	3	0	0	3
		1994/95		Zimbabwe	3	1	2	0
		1995/96		Zimbabwe	1	0	1	0
		1995/96		New Zealand	2	0	0	2
		1999/2000		Zimbabwe	1	0	1	0
		1999/2000		Zimbabwe	3	0	1	2
		1999/2000		West Indies	2	0	2	0
				England	2	0	1	1
		Total			20	1	10	9
3	Alistair Campbell	1996		Sri Lanka	2	0	2	0
		1996/97		Pakistan	2	0	1	1
		1996/97		Zimbabwe	2	0	0	2
		1997/98		Zimbabwe	2	0	0	2
		1997/98		Sri Lanka	2	0	2	0
		1997/98		New Zealand	2	0	2	0
		1997/98		Zimbabwe	2	0	1	1
		1998/99		Zimbabwe	1	1	0	0
		1998/99		Pakistan	2	1	0	1
		1999/2000		Zimbabwe	1	0	1	0
		1999/2000		South Africa	1	0	1	0
		2002/03		Zimbabwe	2	0	2	0
		Total			21	2	12	7
4	Heath Streak	2000/01		Zimbabwe	2	0	2	0
		2000/01		India	2	0	1	1
		2000/01		New Zealand	1	0	0	1
		2000/01		Zimbabwe	2	2	0	0
		2001		Zimbabwe	2	1	1	0
		2001		Zimbabwe	2	0	1	1
		2001/02		Zimbabwe	2	0	1	1
		2003		England	2	0	2	0
		2003/04		Australia	2	0	2	0
		2003/04		Zimbabwe	2	0	1	1
		2003/04		Zimbabwe	2	1	0	1
		Total			21	4	11	6
5		2001/02		Bangladesh	1	0	0	1
6	Stuart Carlisle	2001/02†		Bangladesh	1	1	0	0
		2001/02		Sri Lanka	3	0	3	0
		2001/02		India	2	0	2	0
		Total			6	1	5	0
7	Tatenda Taibu	2004		Zimbabwe	2	0	2	0
		2004/05		Bangladesh	2	0	1	1
		2004/05		South Africa	2	0	2	0
		2005/06		Zimbabwe	2	0	2	0
		2005/06		Zimbabwe	2	0	2	0
		Total			10	0	9	1
8	Brendan Taylor			Zimbabwe	1	1	0	0
		2011		Zimbabwe	1	0	1	0
		2011		Zimbabwe	1	0	1	0
		2012		New Zealand	1	0	1	0
		2013		West Indies	2	0	2	0
		2013		Zimbabwe	2	1	1	0
		2013		Zimbabwe	1	1	0	0
		2014		Zimbabwe	1	0	1	0
		2014		Bangladesh	3	0	3	0
		2021		Zimbabwe	2	0	2	0
		2021		Zimbabwe	1	0	1	0
		Total			16	3	13	0
9		2013		Zimbabwe	1	0	1	0
		2018/19	Bangladesh	Bangladesh	2	1	1	0
		Total			3	1	2	0
10	Graeme Cremer			Zimbabwe	2	0	2	0
		2016		Zimbabwe	2	0	2	0
		2016		Sri Lanka	1	0	1	0
		2017/18	West Indies	Zimbabwe	2	0	1	1
		2017/18	South Africa	South Africa	1	0	1	0
		Total			8	0	7	1
11	Sean Williams	2019/20		Zimbabwe	2	0	1	1
		2021		UAE	2	1	1	0
		Total			4	1	2	1
12	Craig Ervine	2019/20†	Bangladesh	Bangladesh	1	0	1	0
		2023	West Indies	Zimbabwe	2	0	1	1
		Total			3	0	2	1
Grand total					117	13	75	29

One Day International captains

As of January 2023, 23 cricketers have captained the Zimbabwean cricket team for at least one One Day International.The table of results is complete up to the third and final ODI against Netherlands in March 2023.

NO.	Name	Span	Played	Won	Tied	Lost	NR
1		1983	6	1	0	5	0
2		1987	6	0	0	6	0
3		1992/93	17	1	0	16	0
4	Andy Flower¹	1993–2000	52	12	2	35	3
5		1996–2002	86	30	2	52	2
6		2000–2004	68	18	0	47	3
7	Grant Flower¹	2001	1	0	0	1	0
8		2001	4	0	0	4	0
9		2001	4	0	0	4	0
10		2001/02	12	6	0	6	0
11		2004–05	29	2	0	27	0
12		2006	13	5	0	7	1
13		2006–2010	68	20	1	47	0
14		2008–2015, 2018-2019	25	0	0	24	1
15		2010–2016	62	18	0	44	0
16		2011–2015, 2021	37	9	0	28	0
17		2015–2018	35	12	2	20	1
18		2019	4	4	0	0	0
19	Chamu Chibhabha	2020	4	0	1	3	0
20	Sean Williams	2020	2	0	0	2	0
21	Craig Ervine	2021-Present	14	5	0	7	2
22	Regis Chakabva	2022	8	3	0	5	0
23	Sikandar Raza	2022-2023	2	0	0	2	0
Grand total			559	146	8	392	13

¹Andy Flower and Grant Flower are brothers.

Twenty20 International captains

Two cricketers have captained the Zimbabwean cricket team for at least one Twenty20 international.The table of results is complete up to the third and final match against Ireland in January 2023.

No.	Name	Year	Played	Won	Tied	Lost	NR
1		2006–2010	10	3	1	6	0
2		2010-2015	18	2	0	16	0
3		2011–2014, 2021	18	4	0	14	0
4		2015, 2021	4	2	0	2	0
5		2016-2019	19	5	1	13	0
6		2016-2018	5	1	0	4	0
7	Sean Williams	2019-2020,2021	11	3	0	8	0
8	Chamu Chibhabha	2020	3	0	0	3	0
9	Craig Ervine	2021–Present	33	18	0	14	1
10	Regis Chakabva	2022	2	0	0	2	0
Grand total			123	38	2	82	1

Youth cricket

Test match captains

Two cricketers have captained the Zimbabwean Under-19 cricket team for at least one under-19 Test match.

Number	Year	Location	Played	Lost	Drawn
1	1995/96	Zimbabwe	3	2	1
2	1997	England	3	2	1
Grand total			6	4	2

Youth One-Day International captains

Ten cricketers have captained the Zimbabwean Under-19 cricket team for at least one Under-19 One Day International.

No.	Name	Year	Played	Won	Lost
1		1996	1	0	1
2		1997	2	0	2
3		1997	6	2	4
4		2000	3	0	3
5		2000	4	3	1
6		2002	8	6	2
7		2004	6	3	3
8		2005/06	10	3	7
9		2008	6	1	5
10		2009/10	12	3	9
11		2009	5	0	5
12		2010	5	0	5
13		2011	4	0	4
14		2011	1	0	1
15		2012	10	2	8
16		2012	1	0	1
17	Luke Masasire	2012	1	0	1
18		2014	11	2	9
19		2014	1	1	0
20		2015-2016	10	3	7
21		2017	2	0	2
22	Jonathan Connolly	2017	3	1	2
23		2017	1	0	1
Grand total			113	30	83

ICC Trophy

The ICC Trophy is the leading one-day tournament from non-Test teams, and Zimbabwe participated in the tournament before they gained Test status in 1992. Two cricketers captained Zimbabwe in the ICC Trophy.

Number	Name	Played	Won	Note(s)
1		7	7	Winners
2	David Houghton	8	8	Winners
2	David Houghton	8	8	Winners
Grand total		23	23

Notes

Web site: Pakistan v Zimbabwe, 1st Test, Peshawar. ESPNcricinfo. 17 October 2009 .
Web site: Players and Officials – Alistair Campbell . ESPNcricinfo. 8 February 2008.
News: Probe clears Zimbabwe over racism . 28 October 2009. BBC Sport . 17 October 2004.
News: Zimbabwe revokes 2006 Test status . BBC Sport . 17 October 2009. 18 January 2006.
Web site: Cricinfo – Brown eyes Zimbabwe Test return . ESPNcricinfo. 8 February 2008.
News: Zimbabwe confident of Test return. BBC Sport . 17 October 2009. 10 October 2009.
Cricket seasons are generally referred to using the summer in which matches are played. Hence a Northern Hemisphere season is encapsulated in a single year (e.g. 1986) while a Southern Hemisphere season spans two years (e.g. 1986/87).

References

General

Web site: Zimbabwe Captains' Playing Record in Test Matches. Cricket Archive. 8 February 2008.
Web site: Zimbabwe Captains' Playing Record in ODI Matches. Cricket Archive. 8 February 2008.
Web site: Zimbabwe Captains' Playing Record in Youth Test Matches . Cricket Archive . 8 February 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121018005259/http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Records/Zimbabwe/UTests/Captains/Playing_Record_Captain_Overall.html . 18 October 2012 .
Web site: Zimbabwe Captains' Playing Record in Youth ODI Matches . Cricket Archive . 8 February 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121018005312/http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Records/Zimbabwe/UOdis/Captains/Playing_Record_Captain_Overall.html . 18 October 2012 .
Web site: Zimbabwe Captains' Playing Record in the ICC Trophy . Cricket Archive . 8 February 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121018005355/http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Records/Zimbabwe/Icct/Captains/Playing_Record_Captain_Overall.html . 18 October 2012 .

Specific