Image Credit- Getty
When his contract expires at the end of this season, Ottis Gibson will depart Yorkshire, the club confirmed on Saturday.
Early in 2022, Gibson signed a three-year contract with the team, replacing his predecessor Andrew Gale, who was fired amid controversy over Azeem Rafiq’s claims of institutional racism within the team.
In a statement, Yorkshire praised Gibson’s “total professionalism” amid “the most difficult period of Yorkshire’s history”. Despite their inconsistent on-field performance, they are currently in third place in Division Two of the County Championship with five games remaining in the season and are vying for promotion.
“The club is in a strong position in the County Championship, contending for promotion to the first division, and all players and coaches remain firmly focused on that aim,” Yorkshire said. “Ottis goes with everybody’s best wishes and everyone at the club wishes him well in his future career.”
Yorkshire announced that Gibson’s successor will be confirmed “in due course” and that they had begun the process of finding a replacement. Chris Silverwood and Darren Lehmann have both been connected to the position.
Gibson said: “Despite the issues we have faced off the field, that inevitably spilt on to the playing side, I am pleased with the state of the squad, the development of our younger players and to be in contention to challenge for promotion. I’d like to thank all of my staff, players and the supporters that have been behind us in my time here and I wish Yorkshire all the very best going forward.”
Colin Graves, Yorkshire’s chair, said: “It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with Ottis. The work that Ottis has done in really difficult circumstances has been impressive, and he’ll leave with his head held high, having helped build some solid foundations, which we are seeing with performances this season. Everyone at the club would like to wish him all the best for the future.”