'If he doesn’t win the World Cup, he would not have had fulfilled his mandate': Gibson under threat?

Ottis Gibson was hired by Cricket South Africa in November 2017 on a two-year contract but, according to the terms of his contract, he could be looking for a new job come late-July if he does not return from England with the trophy

Ottis Gibson's position as head coach of South Africa could well be in jeopardy if the country does not win the World Cup.

Gibson was hired by Cricket South Africa in November 2017 on a two-year basis but, according to the terms of his contract, he could be looking for a new job come late-July if he does not return from England with the trophy.

The governing body's chief executive Thabang Moroe revealed that the deal to bring the 49-year-old to South Africa from the English national setup specifically mentions the requirement to be successful at the tournament.

"When the board of Cricket South Africa hired Ottis it was purely to win the Cricket World Cup. His contract will be looked at after the World Cup," Moroe was quoted as saying in the South African media.

^{Cricket South Africa chief executive Thabang Moroe, left}

"As things stand Ottis’ contract stipulates that he is hired to win the World Cup and as things stand if he doesn’t win the World Cup, then he would not have had fulfilled his mandate." 

South Africa have never won a World Cup nor reached a final. They have been eliminated at the semi-final stage on four occasions.

Gibson's backroom team - including Dale Benkenstein, Claude Henderson and Malibongwe Maketa - could also be under threat if his side do not rectify that record, however.

"The coaches that were already in the setup before Ottis came and those that were brought in afterwards, their contracts were aligned with Ottis’s contract," Moroe said.

"Purely because we wanted to avoid a situation where should we hire a new coach for whatever reason, a new mandate is given to that coach, they then can be allowed to compile their own team."