|
Ottis Gibson has signed a new three-year deal to keep him as West Indies coach until 2016.
Gibson came close to becoming the new Warwickshire director of cricket
last week, having attended a second interview on his way to Australia,
but the WICB were keen to retain his services and he will now take West
Indies beyond the 2015 World Cup.
He became West Indies coach in early 2010, replacing John Dyson, having
been England's bowling coach since 2007. Under his charge West Indies
have shown recent improvements, notably by winning the World Twenty20 in
Sri Lanka, although he has had to contend with his share of off-field
issues such as the stand-off with Chris Gayle and the impact of the IPL
on the Caribbean season.
"I enjoy being involved in West Indies cricket and it is something I'm
very excited about considering what we have achieved - especially in the
last year - beating New Zealand at home in all three formats and
winning the World Twenty20 tournament in Sri Lanka," Gibson said. "This
confirms that we are making progress and I am happy to continue with the
team for the next three years as we look to take West Indies cricket
forward."
"There is a lot to do and things to look forward to. There is the
Champions Trophy in England this year, we will be defending the World
T20 title in Bangladesh next year and there is the World Cup in 2015.
These are things we have talked about and these are things the selectors
have been planning for.
"We will also look to climb the ICC rankings in all three formats. This
is something we have to strive for, to make the move up. There is a lot
more one-day cricket than Test cricket this year, but next year there
are quite a few more Test matches, so these will be opportunities for
the players to perform and for the team to progress. You set goals and
the real enjoyment is when you achieve those goals and see progress
being made."
Michael Muirhead, the WICB chief executive, said: "Ottis has added
significant value to the development of the West Indies team during his
tenure and we are delighted to have secured his services for another
three years.
"Most notably is that he led the implementation of a system of
professionalism within the team unit and curbed the negative results
which we were experiencing with some frequency.
"While there have also been some challenges along the way, these are not
to be unexpected in such a dynamic and high pressure environment and
the WICB looks forward to the continued development of the West Indies
team through this next critical phase under Ottis' stewardship at the
elite team level."
West Indies are currently on tour in Australia for a one-day series then
return to the Caribbean for a home season that includes a full tour by
Zimbabwe, a triangular one-day tournament involving India and Sri Lanka
plus a Test series against Pakistan.
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
No comments:
Post a Comment