Sinikiwe Mpofu: Zimbabwe cricket coach dies one month after husband

Sinikiwe Mpofu played in Zimbabwe women's first ever international match in 2006

Zimbabwe women's national cricket team coach Sinikiwe Mpofu has died, less than a month after her husband and fellow Chevrons coach Shepherd Makunura also passed away.

Mpofu passed away "suddenly" at the age of 37 on Saturday.

The former international, who had the nickname of "Sneeze", was married to Zimbabwe men's team fielding coach Makunura, who died on 15 December 2022 after a long battle with illness.

They are survived by two children.

Mpofu was pronounced dead on arrival at a medical facility after collapsing at her home in Masvingo. A post-mortem to determine the cause of her death is to be carried out.

Mpofu, born in Bulawayo on 21 February 1985, was a talented all-rounder who was part of the history-making team that played the Lady Chevrons' first-ever international in December 2006.

A statement from Zimbabwe Cricket described her post-playing career as "an integral part of Zimbabwe Cricket's game development structures" at both provincial and national levels.

Mpofu was part of the technical teams that have seen Zimbabwe Women dominate in Africa, earning one-day international status and recently finishing just one win away from qualifying for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup.

As head coach she guided Mountaineers Women to victory in the inaugural Fifty50 Challenge - Zimbabwe's provincial one-day championship for women - in the 2020-21 season.

Last season, she led them to another final, finishing as runners-up in the Women's T20 Cup.

Zimbabwe Cricket managing director Givemore Makoni said: "Death has robbed us of a genuinely warm individual, more importantly a loving mother, and deprived so many others, including all of us, of one of the pioneers of women's cricket in Zimbabwe who went on to excel as a coach at provincial and national levels.

"With her sudden passing coming just a few weeks after the death of her loving husband, who was also a part of our national team coaching setup, this is particularly a difficult and painful time for their young children, families, friends and the entire cricket fraternity.

"In extending to them our heartfelt condolences, we wish them courage and strength to bear this devastating loss."