Zimbabwe cricket seems to suffer one blow after another, and the latest has been the news that national team coach Carl Rackemann is to leave his job shortly. The burly former Australian pace bowler's one-year contract had been due to expire at the end of August, but by general agreement he has done so well in the job that it was hoped he would be able to stay on for longer.

Rackemann's reasons for leaving, he says, are simply "commitments back home, especially my farm". He feels he has spent too much time away from it, but adds that he hopes to stay involved with the Zimbabwe team in the future in one role or another.

There will be those who suggest that the current unrest between players and administrators in Zimbabwe cricket has been responsible for his decision, but Rackemann denies it. He has told the Zimbabwe Cricket Union that he will still be available for the visits by South Africa and England in September and October if they wish to use him.

Rackemann's first contact with the national side was in 1999 when he assisted Dave Houghton, then national coach, as a specialist bowling coach. He was so effective that he was invited back as often as he could make it, and when Houghton resigned last year, for one rare occasion the Zimbabwe Cricket Union and the players were in agreement: Rackemann was the best man to take over.

During his time, Rackemann feels that the team has recorded some 'terrific achievements'; he names the recent victory in the Second Test against India and the one-day series win in New Zealand, Zimbabwe's first away from home, as two outstanding highlights on the field of play.

With individuals, he notes that there is a long list of batsmen who during the past year have recorded their highest scores, most notably in the Test against India at Nagpur. Here Grant Flower fought back with a century after recording a 'pair' in Delhi, Alistair Campbell hit his first Test century, and Andy Flower hit his wonderful 232 not out. Rackemann also recalls the 70 scored by the late Trevor Madondo in Wellington, "batting beautifully for it".

The third One-Day International win in New Zealand was a major highlight, coming as it did against all expectations, with a magnificent innings by Heath Streak, and the recent Test win against India was achieved largely through the efforts of Streak and Andy Blignaut, who "bowled so well". This was largely the result of bowling to a plan, bowling consistently just outside the line of the off stump to the Indian batsmen, and Rackemann rightly feels that one of his achievements has been to have his bowlers bowl a more consistent line and bowl to a plan. Zimbabwe's bowlers also used to be plagued by problems with wides and no-balls, and he feels he has managed to reduce these to a minimum.

Highlights can also be achieved off the field, he believes, mentioning that he has had individual sessions with players, even in the nets, when they have achieved a breakthrough in developing some area of their game successfully. 'Discipline' and 'consistency' are two words that he mentions often, and he believes he has seen these achieved to a greater degree in many Zimbabwean players.

It is not just in the technical areas that he has enjoyed success. He has aimed to add mental strength to the players, "to simplify their thoughts and attitudes, to get them to believe in themselves and have the objectives of results".

"I talk a lot to the team about having more consistency. With each individual playing better cricket more often, then the team will play a higher quality of cricket more often. That doesn't mean that they will win or be in a winning position every time they take the field, but just that they will play better cricket more often."

The players have a tremendous respect for Rackemann. Andy Flower, always one to tell it straight, says: "I think Carl has added a tremendous amount to Zimbabwe cricket, especially in the area of bringing to a naïve country the Australian influence and all that comes with it.

"I think he's brought a positive but relaxed atmosphere to the changing room and has also shown some positive results since the moment he first started working with our bowlers. Equally, although he is not a specialist batting coach, he has focused the batsmen's minds on the basics, the consequence of which has been a number of career-best performances from some of them. I've loved working with him."

Carl Rackemann has been very good for Zimbabwe cricket, and it is unlikely that his influence will be lost forever. He has managed to identify with the team so greatly that, even when they play Australia, he is able to support them unequivocally. Hopefully he will be back, even if only in his old role as bowling coach, and there will always be room for him among Zimbabwe's grateful players. In the meantime, the ZCU has the problem with its limited finance of finding a replacement worthy to wear the great Australian's mantle.

© CricInfo Ltd.