He played for Rhodesia prior to Zimbabwe's independence. He also represented the Zimbabwean team (1980 onwards) and the Western Province in the South African domestic competition.
Coaching career
After his retirement,Pycroft coached Zimbabwe national under-19 cricket team and served as a national selector. By 2001,he was Zimbabwe's chief selector and was briefly appointed as the coach of Zimbabwe national cricket team. During the 2003 Cricket World Cup,disputes arose over team selection. On 11 March 2003,Pycroft resigned from his role as a selector,citing differences with the board's selection policies.[2]
He later worked as a cricket commentator before being appointed coach of the Zimbabwe A team in 2006. He held this position until August 2008,when his contract was terminated by the Zimbabwe Cricket.[3]
In 2018,during a Test in Cape Town where Australian cricketers were found to have tampered with the ball,he imposed sanctions that included a one-match ban on captain Steve Smith and fines for David Warner and Cameron Bancroft.[5]
Pakcroft
In September 2025,Pycroft was at the centre of controversy in the India-Pakistan fixture at the 2025 Asia Cup for allowing the captains to forego the shaking of hands at the toss amid political tensions between the countries.[6]
The Pakistan Cricket Board wrote to the ICC accusing him of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct and Spirit of Cricket,and they requested the removal of Pycroft as match referee for rest of the tournament.[7] Pakistan delayed taking the field for its subsequent match until the PCB announced that Pycroft had described the situation as a "miscommunication" and had apologized to Pakistan's team management.[8] An internal ICC investigation cleared Pycroft of wrongdoing. The dispute delayed the start of Pakistan's next match by approximately one hour. The PCB withdrew its boycott threat,and Pycroft continued to officiate in the tournament.[6]
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