Online Reporter
Blessing Malinganiza-Zimpapers Sports Hub
FORMER Zimbabwe women’s cricket captain Mary-Anne Musonda has been appointed team manager of the senior women’s national side, weeks after calling time on her playing career.
Zimbabwe Cricket confirmed the appointment yesterday, moving quickly to keep one of the women game’s most recognisable figures inside the national set-up at a time the team is trying to re-build.
Musonda retired earlier this year after nearly two decades in the game, a career that saw her carry Zimbabwe Women through some of their toughest years, both as a senior player and captain.
Zimbabwe Cricket managing director Givemore Makoni said the appointment was part of a broader plan to strengthen the women’s game while also retaining former players within the system.
“Mary-Anne has been an outstanding servant of Zimbabwe Cricket whose leadership, discipline and passion for the women’s game have always stood out,” said Makoni.
“She brings invaluable experience from her years as an international cricketer and captain, and we believe her presence within the team environment will greatly contribute to our efforts to re-build a strong and competitive women’s side.”
For Zimbabwean women, the appointment also feels like a return to familiar leadership.
Musonda was one of the faces of the national team long before Zimbabwe Women gained full international recognition. She stayed through the uncertain years, the stop-start programmes and the slow re-build of the women’s game.
Her career stretched back to 2006 and included more than 100 appearances across regional qualifiers, bilateral series and international matches.
She last played for Zimbabwe at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup qualifiers in Abu Dhabi in 2024 before an injury setback eventually pushed her towards retirement.
The 34-year-old middle-order batter played 16 Women’s One-Day Internationals, scoring a century and a half-century, while also featuring in 58 Women’s T20 Internationals, where she registered five fifties.
One of the defining moments of her career came in October 2021 when she became the first Zimbabwean woman to score an international century.
On her ODI debut against Ireland Women at Harare Sports Club, Musonda struck an unbeaten 103 to lead Zimbabwe to a four-wicket victory, a knock that remains one of the landmark moments in the growth of women’s cricket in the country.
Away from cricket, Musonda also holds a Master’s degree in Development Finance from the University of Cape Town, adding another layer to a profile Zimbabwe Cricket clearly still sees as important to the future of the women’s game.
