Former West Indies allrounder Ottis Gibson has been appointed as the new head coach of the Yorkshire country cricket club.
New Head Coach of Yorkshire
The move comes after the club confirmed the departure of former coach Andrew Gale and his staff last month in the wake of the racism scandal.
Gibson will also have two assistant coaches alongside him as part of the coaching staff and will report to Darren Gough, the interim Managing Director of Yorkshire Cricket.
The 52-year-old has played two Tests and 15 ODIs for West Indies and has also enjoyed multiple stints in county cricket with the highlight being his 10-fer in an innings for Durham against Hampshire in 2007.
“We’re delighted to welcome Ottis to the club,” Lord Kamlesh Patel, Yorkshire’s chairman, said. “His playing and coaching credentials speak for themselves and he has had a distinguished career performing at the highest level.
“Ottis’ character and his commitment to buying into the process that we are going through at Yorkshire County Cricket Club shone through in our discussions.
He is someone that I know will encourage dialogue and help foster a culture of inclusion at the club, as well as supporting and developing the world-class talent we have here and pushing them to the next level.
I look forward to working with Ottis over the coming weeks and months as we continue our rebuild of the club”.
Gibson added: “I’m extremely honored and excited to be given the opportunity to join Yorkshire County Cricket Club as head coach.
This is one of the most prestigious roles in English county cricket, and I am really looking forward to working with this talented group of players to take the club forward. I’ve spoken at length with Goughy about the direction the club is heading in and I’m excited to be a part of that future.”
Gibson will join up with the club once his contract with the Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League finishes next month.
In the interim, the former Yorkshire fast bowler Ryan Sidebottom has been standing in as head coach, although he ran into controversy last week, after suggesting the club needed to “forget” the events of 2021. It was a choice of words for which he later apologized.
Gibson was working as Bangladesh’s bowling coach recently and decided to not renew his contract after a two-year stint. He has also served as a bowling coach for England in the past and has had stints as the head coach of South Africa and the West Indies. He will take charge by the end of February after completing his stint with Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League.
Gough, Yorkshire’s director of cricket, added: “Ottis becoming head coach is an important moment for Yorkshire County Cricket Club, and we are very happy that he has become part of the team.
Ottis is one of the best coaches in the world and will be a fantastic addition. His knowledge, commitment, experience and cricket know-how will be vital for us as we move into pre-season and get ourselves up and running.
We were absolutely blown away by the level of interest and quality of candidates for this role, but I have no doubt that he’s the best person for the job and will pick up the challenge with relish”.
