Former West Indies all-rounder Ottis Gibson is confirmed to be new head of Yorkshire, as announced on Wednesday. Following his stint with Bangladesh as the bowling coach, Ottis will join Yorkshire at the end of February after finishing his PSL duties for Multan Sultans.
After a spree of terminations, owing to a racism scandal, Yorkshire opted for a complete revamp in coaching staff. Andrew Gale, who was the previous head coach of Yorkshire, will be succeeded by Gibson.
Ottis's hiring comes as a major breakthrough for the county, whose new director of cricket Darren Gough revealed the name of the West Indian as their top target earlier this month. Gibson will report to Gough during his tenure at Yorkshire.
"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," Gough said as quoted by The Cricketer.
"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.
Before joining Yorkshire, Gibson will work with Multan Sultans in Pakistan Super League, scheduled later this month.
"I'm extremely honoured 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." Gibson said on his appointment as the head coach of Yorkshire.
A statement from Yorkshire gave details of Gibson's involvement in the development of cricketers playing for the county. Two assistant coaches are yet to be hired. Allan Donald and Waqar Younis are said to be interested in the role of the bowling coach.
The chairman of Yorkshire County Cricket Club Lord Patel also heaped praises on Ottis and welcomed the new head coach into the club.
"We're delighted to welcome Ottis to the club. 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," Lord Patel said.
"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," he concluded.