Ottis Gibson will take over as West Indies coach in time for the home series against Zimbabwe later this month. The WICB chief executive Ernest Hilaire has confirmed reports that Gibson left his post as England's bowling coach to take up the vacancy created by the sacking of John Dyson last year.
"Ottis will begin his appointment from the start of the home series against Zimbabwe," Hilaire said in a CBC Radio interview. "I think we need to take Ottis' appointment in stride. He will be the head coach of the WICB, and not just head coach of the senior team. He will have responsibility for coaching right across all of our representative cricket teams.
"This will give him an opportunity to stamp a particular style of coaching a West Indies way across all the teams. This is really important because by the time our players reach the senior team, they should be the finished article, and they really ought to be focussing mainly on their strategy, tactics, how they win games, and being able to execute."
The interim coach David Williams will remain in charge for the one-day tour of Australia, which starts over the next week, before becoming Gibson's assistant. The Zimbabwe series begins with a Twenty20 international in Trinidad on February 28 and Hilaire said it was important to give Gibson time to stamp his mark on the team.
"I think this has to be a long-term project," he said. "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."
A fast-bowling allrounder during his playing days, Gibson represented West Indies in two Tests and 15 one-day internationals, and had a long first-class career in the Caribbean, South Africa and England. He coached within the ECB academy system before taking on the role as England's bowling coach in 2007 and Hilaire said Gibson's experience made him the best candidate.
"We hope that with him responsible for all coaching, he can start outlining to the coaches of all our teams the kind of players and approaches he wants from the players to ensure there is a clear career pathway as they move from the junior ranks to the senior team.
"He is a new era coach, and someone who has been exposed to all of the technologies and new approaches to coaching. We are hoping that he will bring to this task, an understanding of West Indies cricket. He will have all requisite knowledge and skills."
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