Ottis Gibson will make his return to international cricket, and to the England coaching set-up, with the fast-bowling performance camp in South Africa this winter, his first involvement with the game since his departure as head coach of West Indies in August.
England have stressed that Gibson’s appointment is only on a short-term basis, to work alongside the lead fast-bowling coach, Kevin Shine, while the senior team’s bowling coach, David Saker, takes a break before a relentless 2015. Nevertheless it represents quite a coup, given the reputation earned by the 45-year-old Barbadian in taking West Indies to the World Twenty20 title in 2012 and before that in four years working with Peter Moores and Andy Flower in the England set-up.
Jimmy Anderson has credited Gibson with a major part in the transformation of his international career, largely through a back-to-basics approach. He could not resist the lure of the West Indies job in 2010, when his England role was taken by Saker, but left amid some acrimony two months ago, officially by mutual consent although Gibson continues to insist that he was sacked by the West Indies Cricket Board – who have since descended into crisis after the termination of their team’s tour to India.
The fast-bowling camp, which will be attended by seven players of varying experience – from the established international Liam Plunkett to the Surrey rookie Matthew Dunn – will run from 21 November to 10 December in Potchefstroom.
During the same period Andy Flower, the former coach who now works as the technical director of elite cricket, will lead a batting, spin bowling and wicketkeeping camp in Sri Lanka, where the 12 selected members of the Performance Programme will also “offer support” to the senior squad during their seven-match one-day series.
Flower will oversee four specialist coaches – Graham Thorpe (batting), Bruce French (wicketkeeping), Peter Such (spin bowling) and Carl Hopkinson (fielding), the latter another product of the Sussex system following Moores and Mark Robinson, who is to coach the Lions for a second consecutive winter.
Robinson’s involvement will begin when he joins Flower in South Africa on 10 December for a further 10-day camp involving players from both of the earlier gatherings with the specific purpose of preparing for the Lions tour of South Africa after Christmas.
The Lions squad was named provisionally on Tuesday, including Jonathan Trott – who left the England squad with a stress-related illness during their most recent Ashes tour 13 months ago – Middlesex’s Sam Robson and seven members of Yorkshire’s County Championship-winning squad. But it will be finalised only in December, alongside the appointment of a captain, when England are required to submit their 15-man squad for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which begins next February.
