Gibson signs new contract as Windies head coach

St. John’s (Antigua), Feb 6 (IANS/CMC) Ottis Gibson has signed a new three-year contract as Head Coach of the West Indies cricket team, the West India Cricket Board (WICB) said.

The announcement, made late Tuesday, also ends speculation in light of interviews Gibson has had to become the new director of cricket at English county club Warwickshire.

A WICB statement says Gibson, who has been serving in the position for the past three years, is now expected to take West Indies beyond the 2015 World Cup.

“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 World Twenty20 tournament in Sri Lanka,” Gibson said.

“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.”

Gibson became West Indies coach in early 2010, replacing John Dyson, after serving as England’s bowling coach.

West Indies have shown recent improvements under Gibson by winning the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka and registering home victories against New Zealand last year.

“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 Bangladesh next year and there is the World Cup in 2015,” said Gibson.

“These are things we have talked about and these are things the selectors have been planning for”.

Gibson attended two interviews for the job of director of cricket at Warwickshire, the second on his way to Australia, media reports have said.

However the WICB seemed determined to retain his services.

“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,” said Michael Muirhead, the WICB chief executive.

“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”.

West Indies are currently on tour in Australia for a one-day series then return to the Caribbean for a home season that includes a full tour by Zimbabwe, a triangular one-day tournament involving India and Sri Lanka plus a Test series against Pakistan.

—IANS/CMC

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IANS 2013-02-06 13:08:06