AB de Villiers welcomes Ottis Gibson aboard

Former West Indies bowler Ottis Gibson was appointed as the head coach of South Africa earlier this week. Gibson, who is currently serving as a bowling coach of England, will be the first foreign coach of South Africa since the late Bob Woolmer. The 48-year old has previously coached the West Indies side and even led them to a maiden World T20 title in 2012.

AB de Villiers gave Gibson a warm welcome. The 33-year old, who recently stepped down from ODI captaincy, is still chasing his childhood dream of lifting a World Cup. After taking an extended break from the longest format of the game, de Villiers recently made himself available for all three formats. A burning desire to achieve the ultimate glory remains within his sight. The right-hander took to Twitter and was looking forward to working with Gibson

Gibson was delighted with his appointment and promptly replied back to de Villiers’ message on Twitter. The owner of 987 wickets in professional cricket, Gibson will finish his role with England after the conclusion of the final Test at Lord’s.

De Villiers was heartbroken when his side fell short against New Zealand in the 2015 World Cup semifinals. South Africa is in a bit of a rut at the moment, losing all three series against England besides their first round exit in the ICC Champions Trophy in June. As a senior player, de Villiers would want to contribute as much as possible before bowing out from the international arena.

Gibson replaces Russell Domingo, who opted to choose to work with the ‘A’ squad. He was the head coach of the national side for a period of 4 years but did not reapply for his job. It is learned that the ECB and CSA have agreed on a compensation amount to release Gibson earlier than what his contract with ECB states.