Faf du Plessis all but confirms the Proteas’ new coach

The cat had already scratched a hole but it’s now out of the bag regarding the identity of the Proteas’ new head coach.

Skipper Faf du Plessis on Thursday confirmed Ottis Gibson, the former West Indian fast bowler and current England bowling mentor, is officially in line to replace Russell Domingo.

Also read: Faf and the Proteas ‘like what they hear’ about Ottis Gibson

All that stands in the 48-year-old’s way is red tape.

“As far as we know, it’s been told to us that the decision has been made by the coaching panel,” the skipper confirmed.

“They’ve chosen Ottis Gibson as their recommendation and now that goes to the board and the board decides whether they want to use that recommendation or not.”

Cricket South Africa (CSA) in May appointed a five-man panel – that includes former coaches Eric Simons and Gary Kirsten – to scout candidates.

Another potential hiccup is that England are apparently demanded compensation from CSA.

Du Plessis has previously mentioned how he contacted various players to get their view on Gibson and how their comments were positive.

But he does hope there aren’t too many changes in the support staff.

“In an ideal situation, you’d like to make as little change as possible so it’s not wholesale changes,” said Du Plessis.

“A whole new coaching staff would come in and it would take a while to get to know everyone. If there was a suggestion I could make is to for whoever to come in, if it was Ottis, to come in and see for himself what the team requires.”

It’s all rather hard on Domingo, whose remained dignified throughout a seesawing four-year tenure.

And Du Plessis will certainly miss him.

“The team knows Russell well, there are good relationships and the players trust him. That’s a good asset that the coach has. To lose that will not be nice,” he said.

“But the other side is that someone will come in with some fresh ideas.”

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