LONDON – Former West Indies head coach Ottis Gibson has been reappointed as England’s fast bowling coach for the forthcoming tour of the Caribbean, officials have confirmed.
Gibson was England’s bowling coach for nearly three years from 2007 before he was appointed as head coach of West Indies.
He left that job last August after guiding West Indies to a World Twenty20 crown in Sri Lanka but struggled to regenerate West Indies cricket.
“We are delighted to have secured a bowling coach of Ottis’ calibre,” declared England’s managing director, Paul Downton.
“He is highly respected among the fast bowling fraternity and his knowledge and experience of local conditions will be invaluable in the Caribbean”.
Gibson replaces David Saker, whose job was already in jeopardy before he indicated to the ECB that he intended to leave his post in September to take up a position as coach of the Melbourne Renegades Big Bash franchise.
Saker was informed that he was not required for next month’s three-Test tour of the Caribbean as England took the opportunity to bring Gibson back into the fold.
Gibson’s appointment is short term but he has a chance to stake a claim for the job full time ahead of the Ashes series against Australia this summer.
“We must, however, stress that this is a short-term appointment at this stage,” said Downton.
“No decision has yet been made on a long-term replacement for David and we will need to review how we staff this position going forward following the conclusion of the West Indies tour”. (CMC)
