New Coach for the Windies

Former England bowling coach Ottis Gibson takes a step up to the Windies top spot.

England bowling coach and former fast-bowling all-rounder Ottis Gibson has been named as the new West Indies coach, and will take over the reins of the side against Zimbabwe later this month.

In his first full-time coaching stint, Gibson faces a tough few months, with the ICC World Twenty20 Cup coming up in April (in the West Indies), followed by a full tour by the Proteas in May and June.

Gibson will be familiar to many SA cricket fans, because not only did he play two Test matches and 15 ODIs for the Windies, he also spent a fair deal of time in South Africa, playing domestic cricket for Border, Griquas and Gauteng. The journeyman pro also racked up a number of county cricket caps, playing for, among others, Durham, Glamorgan and Leicestershire.

The West Indies Cricket Board chief Ernest Hilaire has definitely earmarked this appointment as part of a long-term  plan to revive the ailing fortunes of Windies cricket. Add to that, Gibson has also been given added responsibilities as head coach across all the representative teams, and not just the senior side.

According to Hilaire, “This is not a short-term project. We are not asking Ottis to turn around the West Indies fortunes and make them a winning team overnight. There has to be a gradual chain of development.”