For a bowler with the propensity to generate skiddy pace, it is quite startling that Ottis Gibson figured in just 2 Tests and 15 ODIs for West Indies. He had loads of experience though in the first-class level as evidenced by his stints with Barbados, Durham, Gauteng Gamorgan, Griqualand West, Leicestershire and Staffordshire.

His ability to hurl in the yorkers coupled with his handy batting lower down the order saw him being typecast as an ODI specialist although he was an equally efficient in the longest format. He could have been a much potent force had the injuries not played truant. Several injuries of varying degrees relegated Gibson to the sidelines and he shifted focus to coaching before reigniting the fire to play top-flight cricket. After serving Leicestershire for two seasons, Gibson moved to Durham. His bowling soared to an all new plane in 2007 when he lifted Durham to second place in the County Championship with 80 scalps including a rare feat of collecting all ten wickets in an innings against Hampshire. He also produced some rearguard actions with the bat, scoring 578 runs that season.

After retiring from all forms of competitive cricket, Gibson turned to coaching. He served as England's bowling coach for a brief while before taking over as the head coach of West Indies. West Indies' T20 WC title win in 2012 adorns his coaching CV although the Test team is still in a transition phase.

By Deivarayan Muthu