40 year-old Barbadian
st. John's, (Feb. 3, 2010) -- The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has announced the appointment of
Ottis Gibson as the Head Coach of the West Indies Team. Mr. Gibson will
be assuming his duties in time for the start of the Digicel Series
between the West Indies and Zimbabwe from February 28 to March 14.
As
Head Coach, Gibson will be responsible for all West Indies
representative cricket teams and will be expected to provide
leadership, guidance and direction to all coaches.
Gibson said
he is looking forward to making a contribution to the development of
West Indies cricket. Gibson is a former coach for the England and Wales
Cricket Board (ECB) North West region and was Fast Bowling Coach for
the England team for the last two years. Dr Ernest Hilaire, Chief
Executive of the WICB, said the Board was happy to have the 40-year-old
Barbadian join the team as he brings a wealth of experience as a player
and as a coach.
Gibson said: “I am really excited about the new
challenge and I am very happy to be involved in West Indies cricket
again. West Indies cricket has always been my passion. I was excited as
a player to represent the West Indies and I am honoured to be appointed
as the Head Coach. It is a privilege and I am really looking forward to
working with the West Indies and everyone involved in West Indies
cricket. I fully understand what cricket means to the people of the
region and I hope in time we can make our cricket strong again.”
He
added: “I would like to thank the ECB for the opportunity given to me
since 2001 as a national coach for North West of England and then as
Bowling Coach for England for the last two years. It was a tremendous
opportunity and I am sure the experience I gained will help me in my
new role with the West Indies team unit.”
Hilaire said: “We are
delighted to have Ottis Gibson as our new Head Coach of West Indies
cricket. We are at a stage in the development of West Indies cricket
where we believe we have the players who are capable of taking the game
to the next level. Ottis has the experience and knowledge to work with
players at all levels, as he demonstrated with the England team. We are
confident he can help to chart the way forward for West Indies cricket.”
During
his playing days, Gibson was a fast bowling allrounder and represented
Barbados in West Indies regional cricket; Durham, Glamorgan and
Leicestershire in the English County Championship; and Border,
Griqualand West and Guateng in the South African Provincial
Competitions. He played two Tests and 15 One-Day Internationals for the
West Indies. In all first-class cricket he made 177 appearances, and
had best bowling figures in an innings of 10-47 for Durham against Hamps