Another serious blow has battered Zimbabwe cricket. Dave Houghton, coach at the CFX Academy, has responded to the ongoing situation in the country by resigning his job, and by the end of April he will have immigrated to England to take up a job there with television companies.

Houghton was one of Zimbabwe's greatest batsmen who might well have achieved the same sort of reputation that Andy Flower now holds in world cricket had Zimbabwe been admitted to the Test arena a few years earlier. He scored a century against India in Zimbabwe's inaugural Test match and still holds the record for the country's highest Test score, 266 against Sri Lanka, and shares one-day record with 142 against New Zealand in the World Cup of 1987/88.

While still at his peak as a player, he was employed by Worcestershire as a coach, and then progressed to the position of Zimbabwe national team coach while still a player. He then became coach at the Academy, where he was held in high regard by the students; they will be shattered by his departure and it may well prove impossible to replace him adequately, especially in the current situation in the country.

Zimbabwe cricket cannot afford to lose Dave Houghton. He could have given so much to the future of cricket in Zimbabwe. How many more invaluable cricket people will be lost before the current tragic situation in the country ends? So far the rest of the world has been of little help, and the response of the Australians by cancelling their tour has been an appalling blow to cricket in the country. Not to mention the apathy of the ICC in this situation. Is the cricketing world going to stand by and watch Zimbabwe cricket die - or even play their part in helping it to die?

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This issue consists mainly of biographies, as there has been little action on the field. We feature Conan Brewer and Allan Mwayenga from the CFX Academy and updates of the biographies of Patrick Gada and Matabeleland players Ryan King and Clement Mahachi.

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