WICB announces new contract with Head Coach Ottis Gibson

The West Indies Cricket Board on Tuesday announced that Ottis Gibson has signed a new contract as Head Coach.

The term of the contract is three years and will go to 2016.

Gibson has served in the position for the past three years, from January 2010.

“Ottis has added significant value to the development of the West Indies Team during his tenure and we are delighted to have secured his services for another three years,” WICB Chief Executive Officer Michael Muirhead said.

“Most notably is that he led the implementation of a system of professionalism within the team unit and curbed the negative results which we were experiencing with some frequency. There have also been clear successes under his stewardship from 2010 to date. These include, most notably, having coached the team to the World Twenty20 title, the team showing consistent improvements in the other formats, the reintegration of players into the team unit and the achievement of the set goals as outlined in the WICB Strategic Plan 2011 – 2016,” Muirhead added.

“While there have also been some challenges along the way, these are not to be unexpected in such a dynamic and high pressure environment and the WICB looks forward to the continued development of the West Indies team through this next critical phase under Ottis’ stewardship at the elite team level,” Muirhead said.

Gibson commented: “I enjoy being involved in West Indies cricket and it is something I’m very excited about considering what we have achieved – especially in the last year – beating New Zealand at home in all three formats and winning the ICC World Twenty20 tournament in Sri Lanka. This confirms that we are making progress and I am happy to continue with the team for the next three years as we look to take West Indies cricket forward.”

“There is a lot to do and things to look forward to. There is the Champions Trophy in England this year, we will be defending the World T20 title in Banglaadesh next year and there is the World Cup in 2015. These are things we have talked about and these are things the selectors have been planning for,” Gibson continued.

“We will also look to climb the ICC rankings in all three formats. This is something we have to strive for, to make the move up. There is a lot more One-Day cricket than Test cricket this year, but next year there are quite a few more Test matches, so these will be opportunities for the players to perform and for the team to progress. You set goals and the real enjoyment is when you achieve those goals and see progress being made,” Gibson concluded.

Gibson is currently with the West Indies team in Australia.