West Indies' Chris Gayle
Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of Ottis Gibson as head coach of the Proteas national team across all three formats.
His contract will run from mid-September when he starts preparing the squad for the home series against Bangladesh until the conclusion of the ICC World Cup in mid-2019.
Gibson is currently the bowling coach of the England Test team and has previously served as head coach of the West Indies.
As a player, Gibson, 48, had a distinguished playing career for the West Indies, representing them in two Test matches – the second of which was the New Year Test at Newlands in 1999 – and 15 ODIs as an all-rounder between 1995 and 1999.
In addition, he played more than 400 matches, principally for his native Barbados, across the three formats that included spells with Border, Gauteng and Northern Cape (Griqualand West) as well as several England counties.
One of his career highlights saw him taking all 10 wickets in an innings for Durham against Hampshire in 2007.
“After following a rigorous process, we are delighted to welcome Ottis Gibson as the new head coach for the Proteas,” commented CSA CEO, Haroon Lorgat.
“His playing and coaching credentials are impressive and that will place the Proteas in good hands as we move towards a big home summer with both India and Australia visiting us.
“Having spent a great part of his playing career in South Africa, Ottis is familiar with our country and that should help him to settle in quickly with our national team.
“On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Russell Domingo for his positive contributions during his time with the Proteas and I am delighted he will remain in our setup as head coach of the South Africa ‘A’ side. This is an important position that prepares our up-and-coming players in the next stage of their journey to become potential Proteas.
“I must also thank the England and Wales Cricket Board for their understanding and co-operation in releasing Ottis from his current contract,” Lorgat concluded.
Gibson commented: “I am delighted to embark on this new chapter in my coaching career and I would like to thank Cricket South Africa for giving me this opportunity and the England and Wales Cricket Board for their understanding of my position. I have spent a number of happy times in South Africa as a player and I am now looking forward to return as a coach.”
CSA president Chris Nenzani also commented: “It gives me great pleasure to congratulate Ottis on his appointment and welcome him on board. I have very pleasant memories of the contribution he made to Border cricket as a player. CSA is satisfied that the recruitment process was a thorough and rigorous one and that the new coach is best suited to the needs and interests of the national team, the interest of CSA, and the national interest. The lengthy process was unavoidable and I would like to thank everybody for their understanding and assistance including the selection panel that advised the board.” – Sport24