Ottis Gibson to turn his firepower on England

"Not much is expected of us," concedes Ottis Gibson, with almost touching understatement. Received wisdom holds that his rickety West Indies team would be fortunate to extend this week's first Test against England into a fourth day, and as the sunny-tempered Bajan peers through a curtain of drizzle sweeping the Lord's outfield, he hardly rushes to dispute the prognosis.

"We have faced some major challenges - some you know about, some you don't." Few would envy Gibson's predicament. Convincing sceptics of the merits of West Indies cricket in 2012 must be like trying to sell bottles of Malibu in a monsoon.

Gibson grew up in the generation of Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose, of Brian Lara and Richie Richardson, absorbing the gifts of those who could suppress any opponents by pure intimidation. He is conscious that the side in his charge represent a faded facsimile of that early Nineties vintage: in the 19 Tests contested in his 21/2-year tenure as head coach, they have won just two.

Still, Gibson is loath to accept the task against the No?1 Test nation as futile. Versed in finding positive signals even amid abject disappointment, he argues that his players remain in "good shape" despite last month's 2-0 series defeat to Australia. "We just need one result to confirm our belief," he claims. "If we can gain a positive result from any of these Test matches, that will reinforce our thinking that we can go on to do great things."

The ever-smiling Gibson holds a singular perspective on the looming confrontation with England, which begins at Lord's tomorrow. For three years from 2007 he was England's fast bowling coach, taking aim at their top order in the nets and acquiring a fine-grained understanding of the strengths - and weaknesses - of Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen, his adversaries for the next month. He scoffs, though, at the notion that this history affords him any inbuilt advantage.

"Not at all," he says, with a signature grin. "That was 21/2 years ago - the team have moved on significantly in that time. They're now the best Test team in the world, and champions in Twenty20. So I don't believe that my work with them in the past will give us any edge whatsoever. Their work ethic has always been excellent. All we are required to do is to be brave and back ourselves."

One lesson, though, that Gibson did glean from his experience at the England and Wales Cricket Board lay in the appliance of science.

Referring to the ECB's trailblazing work at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough, and how far the West Indies have been left behind, Gibson explains: "England have far greater resources than we do. They have a facility where they can analyse every cricket match taking place around the world. Whether in the Indian Premier League or elsewhere, they can pick out players nobody else is even seeing. They research everything, so that there can be no surprises. Even when it is a young player on the margins, they will send somebody to collect footage of him. We don't have the resources to go that far."

Indeed, it verges on the miraculous that the West Indies can send out a credible side at all, when such linchpins in the batting as Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo are both busily engaged chasing rupees in the IPL. The compensation, Gibson insists, lies in the potency of their seam attack.

While the 6ft 6in totems of Walsh, Ambrose and Ian Bishop might be an all-but-extinct species, the
43 year-old discerns hope for the future in the fresh breed of Kemar Roach, Fidel Edwards and captain Darren Sammy.

His eyes brightening at the memory of the second Test against Australia in Barbados, which finished drawn, Gibson says: "We dominated large sections of the game, and we were able to bowl them out twice. We know that we possess an attack that can take 20 wickets."

Ambitiously, he adds: "England recently faced Saeed Ajmal in the UAE, but we have an Ajmal-type talent in the shape of Shane Shillingford, who took 10 wickets in Dominica. Our bowling is going to present some challenges."

When Gibson was appointed to the head coach's post in January 2010, Dr Ernest Hilaire, chief executive of the West Indies board, labelled the move a first step in a "gradual chain of development". He bristles only when pressed on whether that chain has advanced at all.

"Look, we have improved the displays on the field, and the attitude of the players. They have responded to what I have tried to instil in them. I don't want to talk too much about the challenges we have endured, but we have become much more competitive. We see greater pride - that does not guarantee success, but it at least means we have a chance."

Gibson is an antidote to a figure like Gayle, a player often caricatured as louche and lackadaisical. The desire to advance West Indies' restoration to the elite shines forth in his every statement.

Distilling the essence of his coaching philosophy, he says: "When I come to work, I am there to work. I have a strong attitude, a willingness to do what it takes. There is a determination and a discipline. It's like being down in the mine."