Skip to content

Ottis Gibson: Former West Indies international named new Yorkshire head coach

Former England bowling coach and West Indies international Gibson will start his role at Headingley in February once his involvement with Pakistan Super League side the Multan Sultans comes to an end

Cricket - Fourth Investec Ashes Test - England Nets - Day Two - Trent Bridge
England bowling coach Ottis Gibson
Image: Ottis Gibson will take over as Yorkshire head coach in February

Ottis Gibson has been announced as Yorkshire's new head coach on a three-year deal.

The club announced that the 52-year-old, who has previously been head coach for the West Indies and South Africa as well as working as a bowling coach for England, is the latest new addition to a much-changed backroom staff at Headingley.

He will officially start work at the end of February, after his involvement with Pakistan Super League side the Multan Sultans comes to an end and will report to interim managing director Darren Gough.

"I'm extremely honoured and excited to be given the opportunity to join Yorkshire County Cricket Club as head coach," Gibson, who played county cricket for Durham, Glamorgan and Hampshire, said.

"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.

"I've spoken at length with Goughy about the direction the club is heading in and I'm excited to be a part of that future."

Born in Barbados, all-rounder Gibson represented the West Indies two Test Matches and 15 One Day Internationals during a 17-year playing career, and since retiring has become a highly-regarded coach around the world.

Also See:

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.
New Yorkshire head coach Ottis Gibson

The 52-year-old's reign as head coach of the West Indies from 2010 to 2014 including him overseeing their Twenty20 World Cup triumph in 2021.

Gibson enjoyed a successful spell during his time as part of the England coaching staff as well, being part of two Ashes series victories. His other international coaching experience includes serving as bowling coach for Bangladesh.

His appointment comes as Yorkshire continue to rebuild from wholesale off-field changes which included director of cricket Martyn Moxon and head coach Andrew Gale being among the staff who departed in December in the wake of the Azeem Rafiq racism investigation.

"We're delighted to welcome Ottis to the club," Yorkshire chair Lord Patel said. "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.

"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."

County schedule, split coaches, end Ashes obsession - England's Test fix?

A thoroughly-dismal Ashes series for England came to an end in utterly-predictable circumstances in Hobart as their batting line-up disintegrated one last time.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Rob Key has set out what he would do to improve the quality of county cricket in England following the Ashes defeat in Australia.

Of course, heavy defeats in Australia are nothing new for England with 5-0 hammerings in 2006/07 and 2013/14 and another 4-0 reverse on their last tour, and yet the feeling persists that Joe Root's side managed to plumb new depths with the manner in which they succumbed without so much as laying a glove on the hosts.

England have been an inconsistent side in Test cricket going back a number of years, always strong at home but struggling away, but series losses to New Zealand and India last summer showed that now, even in their own conditions, they find it difficult to compete with the world's leading teams.

As so often seems to be the case, a thrashing down under appears to have been the final straw with ECB chief executive Tom Harrison talking of a "red-ball reset" after the series had been lost in Melbourne - but what might that entail? Sky Sports pundits Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain and Rob Key looked at the areas that need addressing.

Around Sky