Former England bowling coach Ottis Gibson will take over as head coach of the West Indies in time for the home series against Zimbabwe later this month, a cricket official said.
“Ottis will begin his appointment from the start of the home series against Zimbabwe,” Ernest Hilaire, chief executive of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), told CBC Radio in an interview on Tuesday.
Hilaire added that interim coach David Williams would remain in charge for the one-day tour of Australia, before being appointed Gibson’s assistant for the home series that starts with a Twenty20 international in Trinidad on Feb. 28.
“I think we need to take Ottis’ appointment in [our] stride. He will be the head coach of the WICB and not just head coach of the senior team,” Hilaire said. “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 focusing mainly on their strategy, tactics, how they win games and being able to execute.”
Hilaire said that Gibson’s appointment “has to be a long-term project. 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.”
Former all-rounder Gibson represented the West Indies in two Tests and 15 one-day internationals, and enjoyed a long first-class career in the Caribbean, South Africa and England.
He was named England’s bowling coach in 2007, gaining experience Hilaire said had marked him out as the best candidate for the job.
Hugh Morris, managing director of the England and Wales Cricket Board, poured lavish praise on the outgoing Gibson.
“We are extremely grateful to Ottis for his hard work as England fast-bowling coach,” Morris said. “Since becoming the full-time England fast-bowling coach in 2007, he has contributed so much to the success of the team and was an integral part of the Ashes-winning backroom staff last summer.”
At the Twenty20 match in Hamilton, New Zealand 79 for 0 (8.2 overs) beat Bangladesh 78 all out (17.3 overs) by 10 wickets.
Tainan TSG Hawks slugger Steven Moya, who is leading the CPBL in home runs, has withdrawn from this weekend’s All-Star Game after the unexpected death of his wife. Moya’s wife began feeling severely unwell aboard a plane that landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday evening. She was rushed to a hospital, but passed away, the Hawks said in a statement yesterday. The franchise is assisting Moya with funeral arrangements and hopes fans who were looking forward to seeing him at the All-Star Game can understand his decision to withdraw. According to Landseed Medical Clinic, whose staff attempted to save Moya’s wife,
Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday homered for the fifth consecutive game, tying a Los Angeles Dodgers franchise record. Yankees star Aaron Judge was the last player to homer in five consecutive games, accomplishing that feat last year. Ohtani, who leads the National League with 37 home runs, homered in the first inning off Minnesota Twins starter Chris Paddack. He hit a slow curveball 134m to center. He carried the bat midway down the first-base line and then did a bat flip. He did not hit a home run later in the game with the Dodgers trailing, but his presence was felt. With two outs
Taiwan’s world No. 6 shuttler Chou Tien-chen yesterday defeated India’s H.S. Prannoy to advance to the quarter-finals of the China Open in Changzhou. It was former world No. 2 Chou’s eighth win in 14 matches against Prannoy, who had earlier this week lamented the age divide between him and up-and-comers, although he is only two years younger than 35-year-old Chou. The Taiwanese, who is seeded sixth at the tournament, rebounded from a close 21-18 loss in game 1 on Court 2 at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium. He bounced back to take the next games 21-15, 21-8 and set up a tough quarter-final
The Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday acquired Taiwanese-American outfielder Stuart Fairchild from the Atlanta Braves for cash considerations to fill the roster after All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe was placed back on the injured list. Fairchild was designated for assignment by the Braves on Monday after hitting .216/.273/.333 in 28 games for Atlanta, with most of his work coming as a pinch runner or defensive replacement. He joins Tampa Bay as a versatile fourth outfielder option. To make room for Fairchild on the 40-man roster, the Rays transferred relief pitcher Manuel Rodriguez (forearm strain) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day
RSS