Domingo upbeat at being a Maverick

SPECULATION has been rife that Proteas mentor Russell Domingo will be replaced as head coach by England bowling coach Ottis Gibson, with even Test and T20 captain Faf du Plessis speaking candidly on the subject when the national team returned from England a couple of weeks ago.

Officially Domingo’s contract only expires on September 30. But the 42-year-old (pictured), who re-applied for the as head coach post, believes he will not be in the hot seat for the summer visits from Bangladesh, India and Australia.

“My time is done with the Proteas. It’s time to move on. I’ve had a wonderful six years with the national side. I’m really looking forward to next phase of my life,” Domingo said at yesterday’s Global T20 draft.

It is still unclear in which capacity Domingo will be retained within CSA’s structures – if at all, but he does have an immediate challenge.

Domingo has been installed as the Pretoria Mavericks head coach for the inaugural Global T20 League, where he will continue his relationship with former Proteas ODI captain AB de Villiers.

Domingo says the pair enjoy “a good working relationship”. “It’s good to work with AB again. I never thought I would work in Pretoria, SuperSport Park, as a coach,” Domingo said.

“It’s very exciting. We both know what we expect from each other. That will make it a bit easier. We never know what’s around the corner, so definitely exciting times.”

Domingo believes T20 cricket provides altogether different challenges to one-day cricket.

“It’s T20 cricket. There are eight quality sides, 14 matches, there’s a lot that can happen. We haven’t even thought about that (winning silverware) but we’ll take it as it comes,” he said.

West Indies double World T20-winning all-rounder Dwayne Bravo was selected as the Maverick’s international marquee player in the first draft.