Domingo rallies behind Gibson
New coach would be good for sport
Russell Domingo has endorsed Ottis Gibson’s appointment as Proteas coach and described his successor as a good human being who will go the extra mile for the sport in the country.
Domingo‚ who has taken over as South Africa A coach after his four-year stint as Proteas coach‚ said Gibson has accumulated enough experience over the years.
“He has been around the world where he has coached under different circumstances, and he knows the set-up here in South Africa because he played here in the past‚” Domingo said.
Domingo, who is preparing the South Africa Invitation XI to play a three-day tour match against Bangladesh starting tomorrow in Benoni, said the new SA coach would be good for the sport.
“He is a fantastic guy and I think he will do a wonderful job because he is experienced.
“He is a really good human being. I had dinner with him in the UK and he is a top guy.”
Asked what advice he would give Gibson as he prepares for his first test match as South Africa coach against Bangladesh in Potchefstroom on September 28‚ Domingo said the Barbadian does not need any pointers.
“No advice‚” he said. “He must come with his own ideas.
“He must find out for himself and make his own decisions.
“He must not come with any preconceived ideas, but I am sure he will do whatever is best for South African cricket.
“He is faced with the same challenges that I faced in England with Chris Morris‚ Vernon Philander‚ Dale Steyn and AB de Villiers, but once all those players are back we should be firing on all cylinders.”
Domingo said he looks back at his tenure as Proteas coach with a certain level of pride because he left the team in a good space and with a good win ratio over the past two years.
“I left our test team on number two on the test rankings and the ODI team number one in the world.” –