Ottis Gibson offers to coach West Indies

Ottis Gibson, the former West Indies fast bowler, has said that he is keen to become the next West Indies coach. The job has not yet been advertised and the experience of those who have previously held it is not persuasive. The team presently in England is under Australian David Moore, assistant to the former coach Bennett King, who the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) have retained until the post is filled.

"I've already sent in my details to Tony Howard, [the WICB's cricket operations manager] and generally outlined how I would go about things if appointed," said Gibson, during a break from his current stint with Durham in the English county championship.

"Like every West Indian I'm upset to see how our cricket has gone down in recent times but there's enough talent there," he added. "With a proper structure in place and with the right guidance, I'm sure we can turn things around.

"What is noticeable is a lack of passion among the present crop of players and the need to improve skill levels. I believe that, with the support of the right people around me, I could make a difference."

Although one of the oldest first-class cricketers around, Gibson is still claiming wickets with his swing and medium-pace and making useful lower-order runs with his forthright batting for Durham. But it is his globe-trotting background both as a player and coach that he advanced his recommendation for a post that has changed hands eight times since 1992, when Rohan Kanhai, the former West Indies captain, was the first to be appointed full-time coach.

Gibson's playing history includes two Tests and 15 ODIs and two A team tours for the West Indies, along with first-class seasons with his native Barbados, Border, Griqualand West and Gauteng in South Africa and Glamorgan, Leicestershire and now Durham in England.

It is such experience allied to his coaching background that Gibson hopes will convince the decision-makers at the West Indies board that he is their man to replace King, who resigned following the team's poor showing in the recent World Cup.

He has a level five coaching certificate and spent three years at England's Centre of Excellence as fast bowling coach under Peter Moores, the current England coach, and Troy Cooley, the Australian bowling coach.

A resident for a dozen years in England, Gibson has coached the England under-19 and under-16 teams, the latter on a tour of South Africa. He was also one of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) coaching tutors from 2001 to 2004.

He acknowleged that ability, rather than nationality, should be the criterion by which a coach is judged. But he argued that West Indies are a special case and that first-hand knowledge of their history and culture would be an advantage.