List of Zimbabwe national cricket captains

Zimbabwe became a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) on 6 July 1992, thereby gaining the right to play Test matches. It had previously become an associate member of the ICC on 21 July 1981, a year after the country's internationally recognised independence. Before this, Rhodesia had competed in the South African Currie Cup domestic competition. Since joining the ICC, Zimbabwe have had seven Test captains, fourteen One Day International captains and two Twenty20 captains, along with a number of youth captains.

Before becoming a full member of the ICC, Zimbabwe played in the 1983 Cricket World Cup, when, under the captaincy of Duncan Fletcher, they beat Australia, and in the 1987 Cricket World Cup under the captaincy of John Traicos, who had previously played Test cricket for South Africa. Upon full membership, David Houghton captained the side in Zimbabwe's first Test matches, as well as in the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Andy Flower, the most successful batsman Zimbabwe has produced, captained the side to their first Test win against Pakistan in 1995.^[1] He was followed as captain by Alistair Campbell. Under his captaincy, the side achieved its first Test series win in 1998 and, in the 1999 Cricket World Cup, passed the first round for the first time.

After Campbell's resignation for "personal reasons",^[2] fast bowler Heath Streak became captain. While Test success—except against newcomers Bangladesh—remained elusive, the side once again reached the second round of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, when they co-hosted the tournament. Not long after this tournament, however, the Zimbabwe Cricket Union sacked Streak, prompting 14 other players to walk out, leaving Tatenda Taibu as captain in the age of 20 .^[3] During his tenure as captain, the side suffered its first defeat to Bangladesh and failed to win a single Test. Further political problems led to Taibu's resignation in 2006. At this point, Zimbabwe withdrew from playing Test matches.^[4] Since the Test withdrawal, several players have captained the one day side, although none has achieved significant success. The side is once again competing in the South African domestic competition under the captaincy of Hamilton Masakadza. Zimbabwe has regained its test status in 2011.

Men's cricket

Test match captains

As of July 2024, 12 cricketers have captained the Zimbabwean cricket team for at least one Test match. The table of results is complete to the only Test against Ireland on 28 July 2024, the last Test in which Zimbabwe have played.^[5]^[6] Where a player has a dagger (†) next to a Test match series in which he captained at least one Test, that denotes that player deputised for the appointed captain or was appointed for a minor proportion in a series.

Zimbabwe played their first Test match, after regaining their Test status, against Bangladesh at the Harare Sports Club in Harare. The only Test started on Thursday 4 August 2011. Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field first. Zimbabwe won the Test on day five by 130 runs. Since then they won three Tests more, two against Bangladesh and one against Pakistan.

Number	Name	Year(s)^{[nb 1]}	Opposition	Location	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn
1	David Houghton	1992/93	India	Zimbabwe	1	0	0	1
		1992/93	New Zealand	Zimbabwe	2	0	1	1
		1992/93	India	India	1	0	1	0
		Total			4	0	2	2
2	Andy Flower	1993/94	Pakistan	Pakistan	3	0	2	1
		1994/95	Sri Lanka	Zimbabwe	3	0	0	3
		1994/95	Pakistan	Zimbabwe	3	1	2	0
		1995/96	South Africa	Zimbabwe	1	0	1	0
		1995/96	New Zealand	New Zealand	2	0	0	2
		1999/2000	South Africa	Zimbabwe	1	0	1	0
		1999/2000	Sri Lanka	Zimbabwe	3	0	1	2
		1999/2000	West Indies	West Indies	2	0	2	0
		2000	England	England	2	0	1	1
		Total			20	1	10	9
3	Alistair Campbell	1996	Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka	2	0	2	0
		1996/97	Pakistan	Pakistan	2	0	1	1
		1996/97	England	Zimbabwe	2	0	0	2
		1997/98	New Zealand	Zimbabwe	2	0	0	2
		1997/98	Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka	2	0	2	0
		1997/98	New Zealand	New Zealand	2	0	2	0
		1997/98	Pakistan	Zimbabwe	2	0	1	1
		1998/99	India	Zimbabwe	1	1	0	0
		1998/99	Pakistan	Pakistan	2	1	0	1
		1999/2000	Australia	Zimbabwe	1	0	1	0
		1999/2000	South Africa	South Africa	1	0	1	0
		2002/03	Pakistan	Zimbabwe	2	0	2	0
		Total			21	2	12	7
4	Heath Streak	2000/01	New Zealand	Zimbabwe	2	0	2	0
		2000/01	India	India	2	0	1	1
		2000/01	New Zealand	New Zealand	1	0	0	1
		2000/01	Bangladesh	Zimbabwe	2	2	0	0
		2001	India	Zimbabwe	2	1	1	0
		2001	West Indies	Zimbabwe	2	0	1	1
		2001/02	South Africa	Zimbabwe	2	0	1	1
		2003	England	England	2	0	2	0
		2003/04	Australia	Australia	2	0	2	0
		2003/04	West Indies	Zimbabwe	2	0	1	1
		2003/04	Bangladesh	Zimbabwe	2	1	0	1
		Total			21	4	11	6
5	Brian Murphy	2001/02	Bangladesh	Bangladesh	1	0	0	1
6	Stuart Carlisle	2001/02†	Bangladesh	Bangladesh	1	1	0	0
		2001/02	Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka	3	0	3	0
		2001/02	India	India	2	0	2	0
		Total			6	1	5	0
7	Tatenda Taibu	2004	Sri Lanka	Zimbabwe	2	0	2	0
		2004/05	Bangladesh	Bangladesh	2	0	1	1
		2004/05	South Africa	South Africa	2	0	2	0
		2005/06	New Zealand	Zimbabwe	2	0	2	0
		2005/06	India	Zimbabwe	2	0	2	0
		Total			10	0	9	1
8	Brendan Taylor	2011	Bangladesh	Zimbabwe	1	1	0	0
		2011	Pakistan	Zimbabwe	1	0	1	0
		2011	New Zealand	Zimbabwe	1	0	1	0
		2012	New Zealand	New Zealand	1	0	1	0
		2013	West Indies	West Indies	2	0	2	0
		2013	Bangladesh	Zimbabwe	2	1	1	0
		2013	Pakistan	Zimbabwe	1	1	0	0
		2014	South Africa	Zimbabwe	1	0	1	0
		2014	Bangladesh	Bangladesh	3	0	3	0
		2021	Pakistan	Zimbabwe	2	0	2	0
		2021	Bangladesh	Zimbabwe	1	0	1	0
		Total			16	3	13	0
9	Hamilton Masakadza	2013	Pakistan	Zimbabwe	1	0	1	0
		2018/19	Bangladesh	Bangladesh	2	1	1	0
		Total			3	1	2	0
10	Graeme Cremer	2016	New Zealand	Zimbabwe	2	0	2	0
		2016	Sri Lanka	Zimbabwe	2	0	2	0
		2016	Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka	1	0	1	0
		2017/18	West Indies	Zimbabwe	2	0	1	1
		2017/18	South Africa	South Africa	1	0	1	0
		Total			8	0	7	1
11	Sean Williams	2019/20	Sri Lanka	Zimbabwe	2	0	1	1
		2021	Afghanistan	UAE	2	1	1	0
		Total			4	1	2	1
12	Craig Ervine	2019/20†	Bangladesh	Bangladesh	1	0	1	0
		2023	West Indies	Zimbabwe	2	0	1	1
		2024	Ireland	Ireland	1	0	1	0
		Total			4	0	3	1
Grand total					118	13	76	29

One Day International captains

Grant Flower, captain for a single ODI in 2001

As of December 2024, 23 cricketers have captained the Zimbabwean cricket team for at least one One Day International.The table of results is complete up to the third and final ODI against Afghanistan in December 2024.

NO.	Name	Span	Played	Won	Tied	Lost	NR
1	Duncan Fletcher	1983	6	1	0	5	0
2	John Traicos	1987	6	0	0	6	0
3	David Houghton	1992/93	17	1	0	16	0
4	Andy Flower¹	1993–2000	52	12	2	35	3
5	Alistair Campbell	1996–2002	86	30	2	52	2
6	Heath Streak	2000–2004	68	18	0	47	3
7	Grant Flower¹	2001	1	0	0	1	0
8	Guy Whittall	2001	4	0	0	4	0
9	Brian Murphy	2001	4	0	0	4	0
10	Stuart Carlisle	2001/02	12	6	0	6	0
11	Tatenda Taibu	2004–05	29	2	0	27	0
12	Terry Duffin	2006	13	5	0	7	1
13	Prosper Utseya	2006–2010	68	20	1	47	0
14	Hamilton Masakadza	2008–2015, 2018-2019	25	0	0	24	1
15	Elton Chigumbura	2010–2016	62	18	0	44	0
16	Brendan Taylor	2011–2015, 2021	37	9	0	28	0
17	Graeme Cremer	2015–2018	35	12	2	20	1
18	Peter Moor	2019	4	4	0	0	0
19	Chamu Chibhabha	2020	4	0	1	3	0
20	Sean Williams	2020-2023	3	1	0	2	0
21	Craig Ervine	2021-Present	29	10	0	15	4
22	Regis Chakabva	2022	8	3	0	5	0
23	Sikandar Raza	2022-2023	5	0	0	4	1
Grand total			578	152	8	402	16

¹Andy Flower and Grant Flower are brothers.

Twenty20 International captains

As of December 2024, 11 cricketers have captained the Zimbabwean cricket team for at least one Twenty20 international.The table of results is complete up to the third and final match against Afghanistan in December 2024.

No.	Name	Year	Played	Won	Tied	Lost	NR
1	Prosper Utseya	2006–2010	10	3	1	6	0
2	Elton Chigumbura	2010-2015	18	2	0	16	0
3	Brendan Taylor	2011–2014, 2021	18	4	0	14	0
4	Sikandar Raza	2015, 2021-present	35	17	0	18	0
5	Hamilton Masakadza	2016-2019	19	5	1	13	0
6	Graeme Cremer	2016-2018	5	1	0	4	0
7	Sean Williams	2019-2023	12	3	0	9	0
8	Chamu Chibhabha	2020	3	0	0	3	0
9	Craig Ervine	2021–2023	38	20	0	17	1
10	Regis Chakabva	2022	2	0	0	2	0
11	Ryan Burl	2023	1	0	0	1	0
Grand total			161	55	2	103	1

Youth cricket

Test match captains

Two cricketers have captained the Zimbabwean Under-19 cricket team for at least one under-19 Test match.

Number	Name	Year^{[nb 1]}	Opposition	Location	Played	Lost	Drawn
1	Brian Murphy	1995/96	England	Zimbabwe	3	2	1
2	Bertus Erasmus	1997	England	England	3	2	1
Grand total					6	4	2

Youth One-Day International captains

Ten cricketers have captained the Zimbabwean Under-19 cricket team for at least one Under-19 One Day International.

No.	Name	Year	Played	Won	Lost
1	Brian Murphy	1996	1	0	1
2	Bertus Erasmus	1997	2	0	2
3	Mark Vermeulen	1997	6	2	4
4	Mluleki Nkala	2000	3	0	3
5	Travis Friend	2000	4	3	1
6	Tatenda Taibu	2002	8	6	2
7	Tinotenda Mawoyo	2004	6	3	3
8	Sean Williams	2005/06	10	3	7
9	Prince Masvaure	2008	6	1	5
10	Dylan Higgins	2009/10	12	3	9
11	Tinotenda Mutombodzi	2009	5	0	5
12	Peter Moor	2010	5	0	5
13	Godwill Mamhiyo	2011	4	0	4
14	Roy Kaia	2011	1	0	1
15	Matthew Bentley	2012	10	2	8
16	Ryan Burl	2012	1	0	1
17	Luke Masasire	2012	1	0	1
18	Malcolm Lake	2014	11	2	9
19	Joylord Gumbie	2014	1	1	0
20	Brandon Mavuta	2015-2016	10	3	7
21	Liam Roche	2017	2	0	2
22	Jonathan Connolly	2017	3	1	2
23	Ryan Murray	2017	1	0	1
Grand total			113	30	83

ICC Trophy

The ICC Trophy is the leading one-day tournament from non-Test teams, and Zimbabwe participated in the tournament before they gained Test status in 1992. Two cricketers captained Zimbabwe in the ICC Trophy.

Number	Name	Trophy^{[nb 1]}	Played	Won	Note(s)
1	Duncan Fletcher	1982	7	7	Winners
2	David Houghton	1986	8	8	Winners
2	David Houghton	1990	8	8	Winners
Grand total			23	23

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c Cricket seasons are generally referred to using the summer in which matches are played. Hence a Northern Hemisphere season is encapsulated in a single year (e.g. 1986) while a Southern Hemisphere season spans two years (e.g. 1986/87).

References

General

"Zimbabwe Captains' Playing Record in Test Matches". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 8 February 2008.^{[dead link‍]}
"Zimbabwe Captains' Playing Record in ODI Matches". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 8 February 2008.^{[dead link‍]}
"Zimbabwe Captains' Playing Record in Youth Test Matches". Cricket Archive. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2008.
"Zimbabwe Captains' Playing Record in Youth ODI Matches". Cricket Archive. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2008.
"Zimbabwe Captains' Playing Record in the ICC Trophy". Cricket Archive. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2008.

Specific

^ "Pakistan v Zimbabwe, 1st Test, Peshawar". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
^ "Players and Officials – Alistair Campbell". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 February 2008.
^ "Probe clears Zimbabwe over racism". BBC Sport. 17 October 2004. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
^ "Zimbabwe revokes 2006 Test status". BBC Sport. 18 January 2006. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
^ "Cricinfo – Brown eyes Zimbabwe Test return". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 February 2008.
^ "Zimbabwe confident of Test return". BBC Sport. 10 October 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2009.

[ex1-7] Cricket seasons are generally referred to using the summer in which matches are played. Hence a Northern Hemisphere season is encapsulated in a single year (e.g. 1986) while a Southern Hemisphere season spans two years (e.g. 1986/87).

[1] "Pakistan v Zimbabwe, 1st Test, Peshawar". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 October 2009.

[2] "Players and Officials – Alistair Campbell". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 February 2008.

[3] "Probe clears Zimbabwe over racism". BBC Sport. 17 October 2004. Retrieved 28 October 2009.

[4] "Zimbabwe revokes 2006 Test status". BBC Sport. 18 January 2006. Retrieved 17 October 2009.

[5] "Cricinfo – Brown eyes Zimbabwe Test return". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 February 2008.

[6] "Zimbabwe confident of Test return". BBC Sport. 10 October 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2009.

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