Outgoing Gibson proud of fixing 'broken' Yorkshire

Ottis Gibson led West Indies to the World T20 title in 2012

Outgoing Yorkshire head coach Ottis Gibson says he is proud of leading the club back to Division One of the County Championship.

Yorkshire secured promotion to the top flight by picking up the points they needed in their final game of the season with Northamptonshire.

But the former West Indies head coach and England bowling coach is leaving the White Rose county after three seasons in charge, having joined in the aftermath of the club being accused of institutional racism by ex-player Azeem Rafiq.

"I'm really proud of a lot of things," he told BBC Radio Leeds. "When I took over, the team, and the club in general, was broken."

'Plan comes together'

With morale low at Headingley, Yorkshire suffered relegation from Division One in 2022 in Gibson's first season in charge.

And their hopes of an immediate return were scuppered last year when the England and Wales Cricket Board docked them 48 points for their handling of the Rafiq case.

But this year, they have achieved the promotion they wanted, finishing runners-up behind winners Sussex.

After a slow start despite the presence of England batters Joe Root and Harry Brook, they won five of their last seven games and drew the other two to get over the line ahead of Middlesex and leave Gibson a very happy man.

"When I was young boy, I used to watch the A-Team and Hannibal used to say, 'I love it when a plan comes together' and that's what I say," he said.

"We've done exactly what we set out to do. The first few weeks we had Rooty and we couldn't get the wins which was very frustrating, but we were playing good cricket.

"We were doing some good things but couldn't get over the line. But I saw enough to think if we get one win, we'll get more. We got one and ended up getting four more, so it's a fantastic feeling."

James Wharton (left) and Adam Lyth will hope to get big runs in Division One in 2025

'Batters will score runs in Division One'

Gibson will not be around to lead their campaign in Division One, and he still cannot understand why he is being relieved of his duties.

But having worked at close quarters with the squad for the last three summers, he is hopeful that they can adjust to the higher level in 2025.

He has few concerns about the batting, but believes that seam bowling reinforcements are needed.

"We've got the batting to make runs in Division One," he said. "George Hill, James Wharton, Adam Lyth, Fin Bean will make runs.

"But the area we've been looking at recruitment this year is fast bowling. They need a few more bodies.

"With seven games in the first eight weeks, you need to rotate people but still have enough quality in that pack that if you take one out, it doesn't affect the balance of the team too much."