New West Indies head coach Ottis Gibson admits on-and-off field factors must come together for the team to re-build and improve.
WIndies coach confident of re-building reputation
New West Indies head coach Ottis Gibson believes there is still a lot of talent in the current national set-up, but admits on-and-off field factors must come together if they are to become a dominant force once again.
Cricket in the Caribbean has suffered plenty of setbacks over the past few years, with off-field politics and the much-publicised strike back in August having contributed to the downturn in the fortunes of the national side.
Even with cricketing legends such as Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Chris Gayle around, the team have suffered in all forms of the game for a considerable period of time - most notably in Test matches, slipping to eighth in the world rankings.
Despite this, the former England bowling coach feels the raw material is in place to revive their form, but admits the team need to learn how to work together if they are to improve.
Gibson said: "The one thing for certain is the ability and the talent is still there, but it's getting the team to play together.
Teamwork
"There has been a lot of off the field stuff which has created unnecessary problems for the team and the players.
"But if we can get ourselves focused and have one common goal that everybody in West Indies cricket is hoping to achieve we can put some good results together.
"The Board, the cricketers, the players' association, everybody needs one common thing and then we can have a period of stability."
The 40-year-old admits he witnessed enough potential in the recent series against Australia, and even during England's tour of the Caribbean, to be confident about the future of West Indies cricket.
He added: "The team showed in Australia that they can compete with the top sides. The raw material is still there.
"I saw that first hand when England went to the West Indies. We came up against a lot of good young players like Adrian Barath and Lendl Simmons.
"When we went around the regions there was some obvious talent there and it just needs to be found and nurtured."
