Zimbabwe mourns allrounder Curran
Zimbabwe national team selector and former allrounder Kevin Curran has died at the age of 53, Zimbabwe Cricket confirmed on Wednesday.
Curran, who had been coaching Zimbabwean franchise Mashonaland Eagles, collapsed while jogging in Mutare on Wednesday morning, although the exact cause of death was yet to be determined.
"We are still in shock, Kevin was the epitome of health and we have yet to make sense of this tragic loss," Zimbabwe Cricket managing director Wilfred Mukondiwa said.
Curran served as national team coach of Zimbabwe between 2005 and 2007.
The former player made his international debut in 1980 and took part in tours of Sri Lanka and England and participated in the 1983 and 1987 ICC Cricket World Cups.
A middle-order batsman, he played county cricket for Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire until retiring at the end of 1999.
He also played in South Africa for both Boland and Natal.
Curran briefly headed the Namibia national team before returning to Zimbabwe in 2004 to become director of coaching at the CFX Cricket Academy in Harare, before later replacing Phil Simmons as national coach.
"I have yet to meet a man more passionate about cricket in this country," Mash Eagles chief executive Vimbai Mapukute said in a statement.
"KC had put his heart and soul into developing our franchise and had great plans for our high performance gym and other facilities."
Cricket South Africa acting CEO Jacques Faul extended his condolences to Curran's family, friends and colleagues.
“He is well remembered for his brief playing stint in this country for KwaZulu-Natal and Boland where he always played the game to the best professional standards.
“His biggest contribution to cricket in Southern Africa has, however, come in the huge contribution he has made to returning the Zimbabwe first-class game back to strength, " said Faul.
At the time of his death, Curran was in Mutare preparing for the team's T20 fixtures against the Mountaineers, scheduled to have been played on Wednesday and Thursday but the games have been postponed.
