BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – NEWLY-ELECTED President of Cricket West Indies (CWI), Ricky Skerritt has repaired the strained relationship between the regional body and former coach Phil Simmons.
Reports out of Antigua stated that CWI and Simmons were pleased to announce that both parties came to an amicable resolution in the claim from Simmons’ dismissal as Head Coach in 2016.
Simmons, who was the Head Coach of the Men’s senior team, was sacked by the Dave Cameron-led Board in 2016.
A statement from CWI confirmed that the action by Skerritt and Vice President Dr. Kishore Shallow formed part of their mandate to fulfill their campaign promises from the 10-point “Cricket First” plan, which is to repair stakeholder relationships, particularly with former players.
“We would like to apologise to you for referring to your appointment as a ‘mistake’. Cricket West Indies did not make a mistake when we selected you as our Head Coach.”
At a meeting on Wednesday (Mar. 27) between the two parties in Antigua, Skerritt, on behalf of CWI, said: “In my previous role as CWI Independent Director, I was involved in the interview panel that recruited Phil Simmons from a long list of competitors and he was the best candidate. Subsequently, based on the results he produced on the field, he proved himself to be a very competent coach in his time with West Indies, winning the World T20 in 2016 and now currently with Afghanistan.”
Simmons, who is away with the Afghanistan team, accepted the apology and noted that he and his family are relieved that a closure was brought to the matter, and that it was done amicably.
“Following the election on the weekend, I am more confident than I have ever been that the future of West Indies cricket is in good hands. I am a very proud West Indian and I hope that in the future I get the opportunity to try and help move our cricket forward again. I would like to offer my congratulations to President Skerritt and Vice-President Shallow,” Simmonns said.
