I’m not sure we needed a new Proteas coach, says Kagiso Rabada

While most of the South African cricketing public find Ottis Gibson’s appointment as Proteas coach intriguing, Kagiso Rabada’s reaction was surprising lukewarm.

The gifted young quick doesn’t hold anything against his new national mentor but he also did not feel the team’s current form was bad enough to warrant a change.

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Instead, he would be approaching their new relationship with an open mind.

“A lot of good things have been said about Ottis and we hope he has a good impact on the team,” said Rabada on Wednesday.

“I’m not sure if a change was needed. We were doing well anyway, the last two months, those things happen in cricket. It’s been a great season, we’re not in a slump. But we will be open-minded about this new beginning.”

Gibson, a 48-year-old former West Indies fast bowler and bowling coach of England, is the Proteas’ first foreign coach since Bob Woolmer, who formed a brilliant partnership with Hansie Cronje from 1994 to 1999.

Asked why CSA had agreed to a foreign coach, CEO Haroon Lorgat said: “It’s the new thinking Ottis will bring to the country after a good run with both the West Indies and England teams. He’s also familiar with South African cricket, having had spells with three local teams. He understands all our strategic imperatives and he knows a number of our players.”

Transformation is probably CSA’s biggest strategic imperative and many believe the time is right for local Black African coaches like Geoff Toyana and Malibongwe Maketa to step up to international level, at the very least as assistant coaches of the Proteas.

Lorgat said Gibson will be allowed to appoint his own assistant coaches, but asked what CSA would do if the former fast bowler employed all overseas staff, the CEO said: “It would be a challenge for him to go that far. We want to develop our own coaches and we will engage with him over that.”

Gibson has been given a two-year contract until the end of the next World Cup, but Lorgat said this in no way implied he was only acting as some sort of caretaker until a Black African head coach is appointed.

“In terms of his tenure, whoever we appointed would only have gone up to the World Cup, that’s a pretty standard cut-off and then you review and extend his contract if necessary. The World Cup is pretty important, you can ask any of our players and they are desperate to win it. But there are no guarantees whoever you appoint. The way Ottis presented himself to the five-person selection panel and the very positive feedback we’ve had from players who have worked with him, made it pretty apparent to the panel that he is the best candidate.”