A decade ago, Justin Sammons worked with Zimbabwe as a spin consultant ahead of their tour of Bangladesh. Today, he is strategising for what could be one of the biggest upsets in sports history.
Zimbabwe has never beaten England in Test matches.
In six encounters since 1996, England has won three times, while the other three matches have ended in draws, including the very first Test between the two teams, which also ended in a draw with scores tied at Queens Sports Club.
The last Test match between England and Zimbabwe took place in 2003, but that hiatus will come to an end with a one-off Test at Trent Bridge from May 22-25.
At the helm of the Zimbabwean team is Sammons, who recently celebrated his first Test victory as head coach when he led his side to a win against Bangladesh in April.
“It’s unbelievable; I would have never dreamed about it, to be honest. It’s a huge honour and privilege,” said Sammons, reflecting on his journey from consultant to head coach of Zimbabwe.
Regarding the upcoming match against England after two decades, the South African stated, “It’s massive. This is the ultimate; the pinnacle is playing Test cricket in England. For us to be here is, like I said, a dream come true. It means so much to everybody here, and it means a lot to Zimbabwe. We hope we can make everyone proud.”
Sammons expressed his elation about finally securing that Test win after coming close against Ireland and Afghanistan: “It was massive; it was just reward for the effort that the guys have been putting in. To get over the line was really pleasing, and it was great to share that moment with the players.”
“We are obviously trying to make improvements. We want to become as good as we can be. We have a lot of Test cricket ahead, which is exciting; that’s the foundation of any format,” Sammons told The Thirdman.
When addressing the media at Trent Bridge two days before the England Test, Sammons stated that his team is capable of causing an upset, but it will require something extraordinary to achieve that against an English side ranked second in the world.
“We have to bring out our best game. We know we are playing one of the best teams in the world, and our skills are going to be challenged; there is no doubt about it. We need a bit of luck as well.
“If we bring our best, I feel we can compete, and anything can happen. We all know the game of cricket, so we back ourselves 100%. We look forward to the challenge because that’s what it is: Test cricket. That’s why we want to play the game and why we want to be here; we want to challenge the best and see where we stand. We always have that belief; we know we are capable of pulling off an upset, but we also understand that to do that, we must be at our very best,” said Sammons, the spin consultant who became head coach a decade later.