England bowling coach Ottis Gibson front runner to be the next South African coach

Cricket South Africa is looking for a new head coach for the team as Russell Domingo’s term ends with the conclusion of the Test series in England and the board is in no mood to give him an extension. While CSA is yet to pen down the name reports suggest that England team’s bowling coach Ottis Gibson a former West Indies cricketer is the front runner to be appointed the head coach.

An interview panel set up by the board has been looking out for the right candidate for the last couple of months and is expected to name the coach after the end of the last Test. Gibson has in the past handled the responsibilities with the West Indies team from 2010-14. After his stint with his home team, the 48-year-old has been with the English team in the capacity of the bowling coach.

Likely announcement after the last Test

Sportsmail reported that not only the South Africans but Gibson himself is willing to take up the role having enjoyed a successful run with the Brits for the last couple of years. CSA had put up an advertisement for the post and though Domingo reapplied to retain his position, he will not be given an extension.

It was under Gibson that Windies team won the World T20, 2012 in India but didn’t want to continue longer with the team. As far as England are concerned, they will also have to look up for a new bowling coach in the 11th hour as the Ashes is just about two months away. The top name in that race is considered to be former Australian pacer Jason Gillespie who is at the moment acting as the interim coach of the Papua New Guinea cricket team.

If England does manage to rope in Gillespie it will be a huge advantage for them given the 42-year-old’s knowledge of the conditions down under, the pattern of plans the hosts would formulate and his rich experience as a player as well as coach.

Huge responsibility

As far as Gibson is considered he will have a huge responsibility since the next coach is expected to lead the team into the World Cup 2019 as well and skipper AB de Villiers has already made it clear that it is the singular thing he wants to target despite the tournament still being a year and a half away.