Lady Chevrons coach Gary Brent bows out in style

ON Thursday afternoon, Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) confirmed that former Chevrons international Gary Brent had officially stepped down from his role as the head coach of the senior women’s national cricket team a few days after the news first got out.

The 47-year-old is said to have formally tendered in his resignation in October last year and was serving his three-month notice. One of the major reasons why Brent stepped down was his desire to pursue other opportunities and spend more time with his family.

His departure is one that has been met with disappointment among followers of the ladies’ game in the country having turned the Lady Chevrons into a formidable team in a space of two years. He took over the reins in 2022 and his departure is a sad loss for women’s cricket in the country. It is not only a huge loss for the Lady Chevrons but also for the grassroots as Brent was involved in a number of development programs all over the country. However, he leaves with head held up knowing he did a good job with the senior women’s national team.

His team was doing well and rising up the ranks, claiming their spot as one of the best in the world. Having taken over the reins in March 2022, Brent was in charge of 28 international matches for Zimbabwe.

From the 28 matches, the former Chevrons fast bowler won 18 of those games while suffering defeats on just nine occasions. One match was cancelled, in a T20I series against Thailand.

He bows out with an impressive success rate of 64,3%, making a good account of his tenure as the Lady Chevrons gaffer and has since left a void that will be difficult to be filled. Brent has left the Lady Chevrons ship with a pretty good success rate for any coach in any part of the world.

During his stint as the gaffer, Zimbabwe Women came close to making it to booking their place at the previous edition of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s T20 World Cup but fell agonizingly close in the decisive qualifying match against Ireland Women where they lost by just four runs.

He also was crucial in taking Zimbabwe to the top, asserting their position as the best team in the continent (excluding South Africa) after a dominant display in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier where the Lady Chevrons managed to book their to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifier 2024 to be staged in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Lady Chevrons convincingly won all five of their qualification matches in a tournament that was held in Uganda in December last year to proceed to the final hurdle, which is the global qualifier in the UAE.

With the amount of success he had under his tenure, ZC Managing Director Givemore Makoni was impressed at the way Brent decided to exit the stage, as he is leaving the team on a high note.

“Gary is leaving on a high, with our women’s team having conquered Africa to book their place at the T20 World Cup global qualifier tournament and we are grateful for his dedication and hard work throughout his time with us.

“We wish him the very best in his future endeavours,” said Makoni.

Zimbabwe women are preparing to face Ireland Women later this month in a limited-overs series that includes three one-day international matches and five T20Is. The ODIs are scheduled for January 18, 21 and 23, followed by the T20Is on January 26, 28 and 30 and February 1 and 2. All matches will be played at Harare Sports Club– @brandon_malvin