admin
Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
A DARK cloud enveloped the domestic cricket fraternity yesterday following the death of national team fielding coach Shepherd Makunura.
Makunura (46) succumbed to illness at a private hospital in Harare.
At the time of his death, he was also head coach of Masvingo-based Southern Rocks. But amid the gloom there is so much to celebrate from his years of service to the game.
Besides giving several young players a chance to discover themselves in grassroots cricket, he also served the age-group and senior men’s national team structures in different capacities.
Just last year, Makunura earned his place in the annals of Zimbabwean cricket when he became the first coach to win four Logan Cup titles on the bounce.
Zimbabwe Cricket management described him as “an unsung hero of our game” while his brother, Jonah Makunura, said the family had lost an idol and a leader.
The late cricket coach is survived by his wife, Sinikiwe Mpofu, a former Zimbabwe international cricketer, who is also the current Zimbabwe senior women’s national team assistant coach, and two children.
Mourners are gathered at the family home in Budiriro while burial has tentatively been set for tomorrow.
“We are so devastated, our hero is gone,” said Jonah.
“He was an idol to many young people who looked up to him as a cricket coach. It’s a difficult period for all of us. The family is yet to sit down to finalise the burial arrangements. But indications are that he will be buried on Saturday (tomorrow).”
ZC Managing Director, Givemore Makoni, expressed sorrow and grief at the passing on of “a loyal and dedicated servant of cricket.”
“On behalf of Zimbabwe Cricket, our deepest sympathies are with his family, colleagues and friends as they come to terms with losing such an affable and wonderful man,” Makoni said.
“We have lost one of our very best coaches, an unsung hero of our game who has been instrumental in the unearthing and nurturing of many of Zimbabwe’s talented players.
“We are grateful for his immense contributions to the sport in Zimbabwe and beyond and the void that he has left will be hard to fill.
“Sheppy was a much-loved and humble person and his smiling face and positive attitude will be sadly missed.
“Our thoughts are with Sinikiwe, his family and friends at this devastatingly sad time.”
Born in Harare on October 23, 1976, Makunura started playing cricket in the late 1980s at Chengu Primary School in Highfield, earning a scholarship that took him to Prince Edward School for his secondary education.
A right-hand batter, Makunura was one of the brightest prospects to emerge from ZC’s development programme for high-density areas as he made it into the Zimbabwe Under-14 and Under-15 sides.
In 1990, while in Form 1, he started his club career as one of the pioneering members of the famed Takashinga Cricket Club of Highfield.
Makunura made his first-class début for Mashonaland A in the 2001/02 season, when he played three matches, scoring 62 against Midlands in his second game and 41 against Mashonaland in his third.
He did not play first-class cricket again until 2006/07, when he appeared twice for Northerns.
When an Achilles tendon rupture cut short his playing career in 2007, he decided to turn his full attention to coaching.
In his early coaching days, Makunura had stints in charge of the Zimbabwe Under-14s (2005-2007) and Zimbabwe Under-19s (2008-2010)
He was the Zimbabwe A coach for the incoming tours by Canada and Kenya in 2018, the same year that he also took the Zimbabwe XI side to the Africa Cup tournament in South Africa.
In 2018, he joined the Zimbabwe senior men’s national team technical set-up as fielding coach, a position that he was to hold until his untimely death.
But domestic cricket will forever remember his personal milestones in first-class cricket where he won four titles in a row.
The fairy tale run began when he led Mountaineers to three consecutive Logan Cup titles between 2017 and 2019 before he went on to claim the coveted silverware again the following season with Rocks in their comeback season after six years on the sidelines.
He achieved the feat along with trusted lieutenants such as Roy and Innocent Kaia, as well as William Mashinge.
“We have lost one of our own, our former head coach Shepy.
“Coach Makunura made history with Mountaineers by becoming the first coach in Zimbabwe to win three consecutive Logan Cup titles between 2017 and 2019,” said Mountaineers in a statement.
Online Reporter