Cricket West Indies appointed Phil Simmons as their new head coach, replacing Floyd Reifer, who was put in charge on an interim basis after Richard Pybus was replaced.
The board, which insisted on having a homegrown head coach, picked Simmons from a three-man shortlist which included legendary opening batsman, Desmond Haynes and Floyd Reifer himself.
“Bringing Phil Simmons back is not just righting a past wrong, but I am confident that CWI has chosen the right man for the job at the right time,” said Cricket West Indies’ new president, Ricky Skerritt.
The wrong that Skerritt refers to is the controversial sacking of Simmons in September 2016, a mere five months after the West Indies clinched their second T20 World Cup under trying circumstances, where they did not even have their jerseys a few days prior to the start of the tournament.
Simmons was suspended for a brief period by the board in 2015 for claiming that there was ‘outside interference’ in the ODI squad selection, and then was sacked a year later. The board cited ‘differences in culture and strategic approach’ as the reasons for his sacking but it was an open secret that egos had dictated the decision.
However, the sacking was a mistake of magnanimous proportions for reasons bigger than bruised egos. Simmons came in with an excellent reputation as coach, first with the Zimbabwe team and most importantly, his stint with Ireland.
The ex-Windies batsman became Ireland coach after their World Cup sojourn in 2007, where they caused a major upset, defeating Pakistan to knock them out. Simmons moulded and developed that team, producing stars like Kevin O’Brien, Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie and George Dockrell with William Porterfield as captain.
Ireland qualified for every ICC tournament under his tutelage, with their best performance coming in the 2011 World Cup, when they beat England, chasing down a massive 327. They also beat West Indies and Zimbabwe at the 2015 World Cup.
After his tumultuous stay with West Indies from 2015-2016, Simmons was appointed as the batting coach for Afghanistan and was later promoted to head coach. The novice team has grown leaps and bounds since then, achieving Test victories and breaking their own record for most consecutive T20 wins (12).
Simmons recently helped the Barbados Tridents to the Carribean Premier League title, beating the Guyana Warriors, who had not lost a single game until the final.
New CWI president, Ricky Skerritt understood the need for a coach who has a connect with the Windies’ players and his intention to ‘right the wrong of the past’ with Simmons made the latter the perfect choice for the role.
West Indies’ fall from grace has been talked about on a regular basis but there may yet be light at the end of the tunnel with Skerritt and Simmons working in tandem.\
Feature Image Courtesy: AFP / Punit Paranjpe
