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Zimbabwe’s fielding coach Shepherd Makunura has died.
The legendary domestic coach passed away in a Harare hospital where he had been admitted. He had suffered from a long illness.
He was 46.
The news was confirmed by Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC).
At the time of his death, he was doubling as head coach of the Zimbabwean first class side Southern Rocks.
Born in Harare on 23 October 1976, he started playing cricket in the late 1980s at Chengu Primary School in Highfield, earning a scholarship that took him to Prince Edward School for his secondary education.
A right-hand batter, Makunura was one of the brightest prospects to emerge from ZC’s development programme for high-density areas as he made it into the Zimbabwe Under-14 and Under-15 sides.
In 1990, while in Form 1, he started his club career as one of the pioneering members of Takashinga.
Makunura made his first-class début for Mashonaland A in the 2001/02 season, when he played three matches, scoring 62 against Midlands in his second game and 41 against Mashonaland in his third.
He did not play first-class cricket again until 2006/07, when he appeared twice for Northerns.
When an Achilles tendon rupture cut short his playing career in 2007, he decided to turn his full attention to coaching.
In his early coaching days, Makunura had stints in charge of the Zimbabwe Under-14s (2005-2007) and Zimbabwe Under-19s (2008-2010)
He was the Zimbabwe A coach for the incoming tours by Canada and Kenya in 2018, the same year that he also took the Zimbabwe XI side to the Africa Cup tournament in South Africa.
As coach of Southern Rocks and Mountaineers he won the premier domestic first class trophy the Logan Cup a record four times. Makunura led Mountaineers to three titles in the 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 seasons before winning the 2020-2021 season after he had appointed as the coach of the reconstituted Rocks.
ZC Managing Director Givemore Makoni – on behalf of the ZC Board, Management, Staff and Players – has expressed condolences on the passing of a loyal and dedicated servant of cricket.
“On behalf of Zimbabwe Cricket, our deepest sympathies are with his family, colleagues and friends as they come to terms with losing such an affable and wonderful man,” Mr Makoni said.
“We have lost one of our very best coaches, an unsung hero of our game who has been instrumental in the unearthing and nurturing of many of Zimbabwe’s talented players.
“We are grateful for his immense contributions to the sport in Zimbabwe and beyond and the void that he has left will be hard to fill.
“Sheppy was a much-loved and humble person and his smiling face and positive attitude will be sadly missed.
“Our thoughts are with Sinikiwe, his family and friends at this devastatingly sad time.”
The news has sent shock around the cricketing fraternity in Zimbabwe, with players, coaches and fans expressing their shock at the passing of the popular coach.
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