dyton mupawaenda
Tinashe Kusema
Zimpapers Sports Hub
WHEN Dion Ebrahim decided to resign from what looked like a promising and lucrative job at the Otago cricket club, around this time last year, it caught many by surprise.
The former Zimbabwe international had moved and settled well in New Zealand and appeared happy.
Otago were on the upward trajectory after Ebrahim led them to the playoffs of both the Ford Trophy and the Super Smash the previous season.
He also still had a year left on his contract.
Among the many theories that made rounds was the fact that his wife, Kate, not being offered a contract by the cricket franchise, could possibly have caused some tension with the management, while others believed inconsistent results in first-class cricket were the contributory factor.
Sadly, both Ebrahim and Otago cricket club kept the truth to themselves.
It was only about a month or so later, when Ebrahim resurfaced back home as assistant coach of the Zimbabwe Chevrons, that the blurred lines between fact and fiction became clearer.
He was announced as Justin Sammons’ assistant in May last year.
“I had obviously kept a close eye on our team (Chevrons) and was hugely disappointed to see us not qualify for the last few ICC World Cups,” he said.
“I know the talent we can produce and I was disappointed to see other lesser teams competing at World Cups in our absence.
“Internally, I would never have felt fulfilled as a person if I didn’t try to contribute positively.
“I could have coached professionally for years in New Zealand, or around the world, but it would never have been as satisfying as helping your people or country become successful.”
Ebrahim had another job offer from a provincial team in Australia when the opportunity to return home arose.
“The timing and desire to get us back to where we should be were way too appealing to look away,” he said.
The rumours around his departure from Otago do not seem to have impacted on Ebrahim.
He endured speculation too when he supposedly retired from international cricket.
At the time of the said retirement, the 44-year-old was reaching his prime years after a promising start.
He had just played 29 Tests and 89 ODIs, scoring 1 225 and 1 443 runs, respectively.
During the 2004 Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) player-board dispute, he stood by the board, after which he found himself one of the side’s elder statesmen, though he was only in his mid-20s.
Unfortunately, his loyalty was not rewarded and for reasons that have never become clear, even to him, he was not offered a central contract in 2005.
That is when he decided to pack up his things and quit. He then tried a hand at playing club cricket in England.
“Actually, I didn’t retire,” said Ebrahim. “Unfortunately, there was a difference of opinion that led me to leave Zimbabwe at 26.
“Regrettably, I didn’t get to fulfil my cricketing ambitions as a player for my country.’’
On reflection, Ebrahim wishes he had handled the “difference of opinion” better, saying he regrets “not having a good mentor to keep me grounded and help make better choices to prolong my playing career”.
Still, everything worked out for the best.
He has since returned to his motherland and finds himself in a space to help forge and nurture the country’s cricketers.
“It has been very emotional. The passion to make our players better and help Zimbabwe reach dizzy heights,” he said.
“It has been very emotional because of some of the successes and failures we have gone through. Emotional because of my desire to get to know and understand each and every player.”
Kate seems happier to tag along for the ride.
“She has played for New Zealand and is excited to come to Zimbabwe and meet the women here. She wants to see how she can contribute to the women’s game,” said Ebrahim.
“She still wants to play competitively and get better as a player. Kate has done some coaching qualifications, so she has a balanced perspective on the game.”
The couple met when they played for the same district in New Zealand.
They were very similar people who had high ambitions and wanted to keep achieving in several aspects of life.
Over the years, they have been very supportive of each other’s endeavours and “try to give each other the flexibility to keep moving forward’’.
The Kate chapter is one of many fascinating anecdotes in Ebrahim’s story.
Another is how he walked away from the game, disillusioned from his time with ZC and tried his hand at being a real estate agent.
It took some divine intervention from the cricket gods for him to find his way back after losing his smile.
“I moved to the United Kingdom initially, disillusioned with cricket and gave up the game altogether. I became a real estate agent and it was only by chance, after selling the house of a Northamptonshire premier team’s chairperson, that I bounced back,” said Ebrahim.
“He recognised me from the 2003 Test tour of England, convinced me to come back to the game. A club (Stony Stratford) were looking for a senior batter and were keen for me to join.
“After a couple of practices, I remembered why I loved the game. I fell four runs short of the league season best that year and was offered a contract to play in New Zealand.”
He travelled between England and New Zealand for several years and fell in love with the latter.
Ebrahim then moved permanently to New Zealand in 2012 and started looking into coaching opportunities.
He started at the grassroots level before moving up to age-group, district and then provincial level coaching. In 2013, he was invited for a New Zealand Cricket Level 4 coaching course (the highest level) and, in 2015, received an offer for provincial pathways coach for Canterbury Cricket (New Zealand’s most successful provincial team).
Among the coaching jobs he had before his return to Zimbabwe was with the New Zealand Under-19 team, assistant coach for Canterbury, and then head coach of Otago’s provincial team.
In 2022, he was offered an assistant coach position for the New Zealand’s Test Team.
Tinaye Agere
Online Reporter