Houghton opts out of race for Bangladesh coach

Dave Houghton has withdrawn from the race to be Bangladesh coach © The Cricketer International Enlarge

Former Zimbabwe captain Dave Houghton has pulled out of the race for the post of Bangladesh coach citing family reasons, a Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) official told Reuters. Houghton had expressed similar reservations when the BCB had informally approached him in June.

"He wants to stay with his father, who is about 85 years old," Gazi Ashraf, the chairman of the BCB's cricket operations committee, said. "So it is unlikely for us to get him now."

Houghton, who quit his post as director of cricket at Derbyshire in July, was shortlisted along with Australians Jamie Siddons and John Harmer after Dav Whatmore decided not to renew his contract with the BCB after the World Cup in the Caribbean. The BCB interviewed Harmer on August 31.

Shaun Williams was appointed interim coach after Whatmore's exit and will be in charge of the team during the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa.