Ottis Gibson is a good man, first. He is also a good coach, second. They are not mutually exclusive. His backroom staff is a clever mix of the old and the new although there have been some unfortunate casualties.

Dale Benkenstein goes back over two decades with Gibson – apart from provincial cricket here and county cricket in England, they have a strong Barbados connection, so it was no surprise to see him appointed batting coach. It would have been the decent thing to do, however, for CSA to have given Neil McKenzie more than a few days notice. Nothing is guaranteed in this business but I suspect there will be no shortage of job offers for Neil Mac. Probably from overseas. Pity.

It was also curious that no explanation was provided for the axing of team manager and Doctor, Mohammad Moosajee – after 15 years service. I am reliably informed that Gibson’s preference was for him to continue. Could it be that CSA perceived him to be too closely linked with the Haroon Lorgat era?