Campbell chairman of selectors

[jimbo]

Former Zimbabwe captain Alistair Campbell has been appointed as the new chairman of selectors by the board. His appointment is part of an ICC-recommended restructuring of cricket in Zimbabwe where former players are being brought back into the mainstream.

"Alistair will bring a wealth of knowledge to the selection process as well as the organization, we are delighted to welcome him to the team," Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) managing director Ozias Bvute told AP.

Campbell takes over from as chairman from Kenyon Ziehl, a former first-class player. Campbell's appointment follows former captain and coach Dave Houghton's decision to return home to Zimbabwe to work as a part-time technical advisor. Andy Waller, the former opening batsman, has also been given a full-time job as a coach while former captain Heath Streak is still negotiating with Zimbabwe Cricket for a post with the Under-19 side.

"I've been watching the boys from the sidelines over the last few years and I am looking forward to working closer with them," Campbell said.

Campbell, played 60 Tests and 188 ODIs for Zimbabwe as a top-order batsman. He scored 2858 Test runs at 27.21, and 5185 in ODIs at 30.50. He took over the captaincy in 1996 and led the side to some notable successes, including the country's first away-series win in Pakistan in 1998-99.

[brmtaylor.com admin]

This is a masterstroke by ZC. I think we had all come to accept that Campbell would not be a coach while the current administration is in place - hence his work in the media. So that ZC managed to get him on board in this role is quite an accomplishment, and not forgetting this still leaves the door open for him to coach in the future.

With Houghton, Waller and now Campbell back in the frame I feel a new wave of optimism, good times should be ahead for Zimbabwe cricket. To think Streak might be involved with the U19's soon too... things are slowly turning around And from an ICC perspective, ZC are doing all the right things.

Congratulations to Alistair Campbell

[zimfan1]

fantastic news for zimbabwe cricket with Campbell at the helm this surly means the end of racial discrimination and may mean that we may see Coventry, Vermulen, Taylor, Williams, Cremer, Price and Waller may all be in the sqaud for the Bangladesh series

[muyendesi]

thank u to zimbabwe cricket and alister campbell.Lets get the good times rolling again.I hope they will soon anounce that mr chingoka will nolonger have any veto powers when it comes to selection matters.May the best players now represent zim regardless of race or political affliation.Well done zimbabwe cricket.

[Kopje]

This is a great day for Zim Cricket, i hope we get a lot of positive changes and we move in the right direction back to Test cricket

[brmtaylor.com admin]

I hope they will soon anounce that mr chingoka will nolonger have any veto powers when it comes to selection matters

I think that was one of the ICC recommendations as well? If so, they will probably remove his veto powers (ZC do seem to be working through the list in a proactive manner) but it probably won't be announced publicly. Who knows, maybe it's already happened? Would Alistair Campbell have taken the position if there were any pre-conditions?

I agree with zimfan1, I think Vermeulen has the most to gain from this selection. With experienced people around him in terms of Dave Houghton, Andy Waller, Ray Price and Campbell himself I think they would collectively be able to get the best out of Vermeulen as a cricketer - and we know that at his best Vermeulen is one of the top, if not the top, batsman in the country.

[CrimsonAvenger]

I think Vermeulen has the most to gain from this selection. With experienced people around him in terms of Dave Houghton, Andy Waller, Ray Price and Campbell himself I think they would collectively be able to get the best out of Vermeulen as a cricketer

Amen

[zimfan1]

ampbell appointed chairman of selectors

Sports Reporter

FORMER national cricket team captain Alistair Campbell has been appointed as the new chairman of selectors, taking over from Kenyon Ziehl who was recently appointed as Centrals franchise chief executive.

One of the country’s most experienced cricketers — both Test and one-day internationals — Campbell will commence his duties on August 1 and is scheduled to meet with the other five national team selectors in the coming week.

Under the new franchise system, the national selection panel will be made up of the chief selector of each of the five franchises, this appointment therefore means that Campbell will effectively oversee the selection of players for national team duty.

His first task will be to come up with the squad for the ODI series against Bangladesh in Bulawayo next month.

Zimbabwe Cricket chief executive, Ozias Bvute, said Campbell’s knowledge of the game would come I n handy.

"Alistair will bring a wealth of knowledge to the selection process as well as the organisation, we are delighted to welcome him to the team," he said.

Campbell said he was looking forward to the new job, having been a spectator for the past six years since his retirement.

"I've been watching the boys from the sidelines over the last few years and I am looking forward to working closer with them."

Campbell was selected for the national side while still at school, becoming the youngest Zimbabwean to make a first-class century.

Selected for the 1992 World Cup at only 19, he struggled against world-class bowling, but the experience was invaluable.

He soon became a fixture in the national side, and greatly impressed on the 1993-94 Pakistan tour, playing some excellent innings against one of the strongest bowling attacks in the world. He scored his first century, against India at Nagpur in 2000-01, and followed that up with 103 the following summer against West Indies.

Campbell took over the captaincy in 1996, leading Zimbabwe to some notable successes, including their remarkable series victory in Pakistan in 1998-99, and their qualification to the Super Sixes in the 1999 World Cup.

He quit after the 2003 World Cup.

[zimfan1]

Under the new franchise system, the national selection panel will be made up of the chief selector of each of the five franchises, this appointment therefore means that Campbell will effectively oversee the selection of players for national team duty.

His first task will be to come up with the squad for the ODI series against Bangladesh in Bulawayo next month.

So six members on the pannel, i hope Campbell has the casting vote

[brmtaylor.com admin]

Audio interview with Ozias Bvute (should open within your browser window).

- ZC have been asking Campbell to join them for the past 2 years
- Streak is set to become Kevin Curran's assistant in the U19 squad