Newly appointed Proteas Coach Otis Gibson is all set to face some lofty expectations when he takes over the coaching role of South Africa, the most important being winning the 2019 World Cup scheduled in England and Wales.
This will be after a long time that the Proteas didn’t make a local appointment and gone ahead with Gibson given the fact that the former Windies player is an experienced campaigner when it comes to coaching.
The 48-year-old Gibson will arrive in South Africa during the middle of next month to start preparations for the two Tests against Bangladesh. As a coach, Gibson was the with the Windies national team during their triumphant campaign in the 2012 ICC World Twenty20.
Gibson was serving as the bowling coach of the England national team and did a pretty good job during his stay. South Africa’s outgoing coach Russell Domingo had earlier backed Otis Gibson to take up the role of South Africa’s coach. His contract with the England Cricket Board (ECB) will end after the completion of the Test series between England and West Indies.
The series is locked at one-all, and after an innings victory by the Englishmen in the opening Test, the visiting Windies bounced back strongly and won the 2nd Test by five wickets. Gibson emerged as the most suitable candidate for the job following the establishment of a selection panel chaired by Board Member Norman Arendse. The panel also included former South African coaches Gary Kirsten and Eris Simons.
South Africa haven’t been able to perform consistently in the last few months, and despite being one of the most promising sides in the world, they have lost a number of nail-biting thrillers. Chocking in a crunch is something associated with the Proteas but under Gibson, they will definitely look to set the record straight.