LEFT ARM OVER
NEIL MANTHORP: Why Ottis Gibson may be the coach SA cricket needs
Several months ago a fine cricket coach with international experience let it be known to his close friends and former colleagues that he might, if it became available, be interested in the position of SA’s head coach. He was Ottis Gibson.
He was not only under contract to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as England’s bowling coach, he was happy and satisfied. It is unlikely that he even gave the details of his existing contract or a possible contract with Cricket SA any thought — he just thought his name should be close to the selection hat, if not formally in it.
The 48-year-old Barbadian would never have been tactless enough to approach anyone remotely involved in an official capacity at Cricket SA but he has remained friends with several players from his six seasons at Border, Griquas and Gauteng in the 1990s and trusted them to put in a quiet word if and when the opportunity presented itself. If and when Cricket SA and the ECB are able to agree on a move and whether any compensation should be paid, the most important point to remember for the Proteas, Cricket SA and the country’s supporters, is that Gibson is genuinely enthused by the job and was a long time ago.It’s not just that he wants to return to head coaching after four successful years with the West Indies from 2010 during which time they won the T20 World Cup in 2012, he cares about South African cricket because it cared for him as a player. He cares about spreading the game across the country, about transforming the demographics and also about not alienating anybody. He was a fa...
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