Richard Ngarava has been appointed Zimbabwe's new Test and ODI captain, joining a rare left-armers club in the process.
Richard Ngarava named Zimbabwe Test and ODI captain
On Saturday (December 20), Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) issued a statement confirming the change: "Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has appointed left-arm fast bowler Richard Ngarava as the national team’s new Test and One-Day International (ODI) captain, with Brian Bennett named as vice-captain.
"The appointments were confirmed at the ZC Board’s fourth-quarter meeting held in Harare on Friday. Ngarava replaces veteran batter Craig Ervine, who steps down after leading the side through a key rebuilding phase."
ZC chair Tavenga Mukuhlani added, "Ngarava has shown remarkable growth as a player and leader over the years. He commands respect within the dressing room and has consistently delivered for Zimbabwe across all formats. We believe he is ready to lead the team into its next chapter."
Captaincy of Zimbabwe's T20I side remains with star all-rounder Sikandar Raza, who has led them in 60 matches spread across 10 years so far.
Left-arm quicks and captaincy – a rare pair
When Ngarava takes the field for the first time, he will join a rare set of left-arm quicks to captain a Test side. Traditionally, captaincy roles have often been given to batters or at times spin bowlers. Left-arm quicks, therefore, are quite rare in this regard.
Only six have led a men's Test team before, but three of them – Andrew Strauss, Bill Lawry and Graham Yallop – took one Test wicket between them. Murray Chapple only captained New Zealand in one Test, and took his solitary career wicket in that match. South Africa's Trevor Goddard (13 matches) and Pakistan's Wasim Akram (25) then, are the only "bonafide" left-arm pacers to captain a men's Test team.
Garry Sobers and Frank Worrell have also done so, but both of them bowled pace as well as spin in their Test careers.
Wasim led Pakistan in ODI cricket as well. That format has seen a few more left-arm quicks captain their country, with Saurabh Netravalkar (USA), Umar Bhatti (Canada), JJ Smit (Namibia) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pakistan) all doing so.
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