Gibson leaves England for West Indies

West Indies have confirmed that Ottis Gibson will take over as their head coach in time for their upcoming series against Zimbabwe.

The former all-rounder, who played two Tests and 15 one-day internationals for the Windies, has served England as bowling coach since late 2007.

His departure, replacing the sacked John Dyson, had been reported over the weekend and West Indies Cricket Board chief executive Ernest Hilaire confirmed on CBC radio: "Ottis will begin his appointment from the start of the home series against Zimbabwe."

The Windies will play a Twenty20 international against the African side on February 28, followed by five one-day internationals.

They are in action in five ODIs and two Twenty20s against Australia before that date, with interim coach David Williams remaining in charge for those games before becoming Gibson's assistant.

Hilaire added: "I think we need to take Ottis' appointment in stride. He will be the head coach of the WICB, and not just head coach of the senior team.

"He will have responsibility for coaching right across all of our representative cricket teams. This will give him an opportunity to stamp a particular style of coaching, a West Indies way, across all the teams.

"This is really important because by the time our players reach the senior team, they should be the finished article, and they really ought to be focusing mainly on their strategy, tactics, how they win games, and being able to execute.

"I think this has to be a long-term project. We are not asking Ottis to turn around the West Indies fortunes and make them a winning team overnight. There has to be a gradual chain of development.

"He is a new era coach, and someone who has been exposed to all of the technologies and new approaches to coaching. We are hoping that he will bring to this task an understanding of West Indies cricket. He will have all requisite knowledge and skills."