Sinikiwe Mpofu Obituary

Sinikiwe Gava Mpofu, a Zimbabwean cricket player and coach affectionately known as Steeze has died. Mpofu was born on 21 February 1985 and died on 7 January 2023 at age 37.

An all-rounder batting right-handed and bowling right-arm medium pace, Mpofu appeared in the Zimbabwe women’s national cricket team’s first official international in 2006.

She began her domestic career with Bulawayo-based Westerns, but relocated to Harare in 2007 to study journalism and moved to Northerns, where she joined the Takashinga Cricket Club.

She also represented Zimbabwe at the 2008 Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier in South Africa and the 2011 Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Bangladesh.

Mpofu blazed the trail in Zimbabwean cricket after she became the first female Zimbabwean cricketer to transition into coaching.

She was named head coach of the Southerns women’s team in 2021 and was part of the national team’s technical staff at the 2022 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in the United Arab Emirates, under head coach Gary Brent.

Her death comes barely a month after her husband Shepherd Makunura, also a professional cricket coach died following a lengthy illness.

She is survived by two children.