…Simmons to resign from post
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE fallout from the shocking exit of the West Indies from the ongoing T20 World Cup has started, as Head Coach Phil Simmons is said to have stepped down from his post after the debacle in Australia.
Playing in the first round of the tournament, the regional side suffered defeats to Scotland and Ireland to bow out after seeing off Zimbabwe.
In a statement late yesterday afternoon (Oct. 24), Cricket West Indies media noted that the long time coach is stepping down from his position.
The decision will see Simmons working until the end of the year and will demit the position at the senior men’s team after the upcoming two-Test series against Australia from November 30 to December 10.
“I acknowledge that it’s not just the team that is hurting but the proud nations we represent as well. It’s disappointing and heart wrenching but we just didn’t turn up. We weren’t good enough and we now have to watch a tournament play-out without our involvement. It's unfathomable and for that I deeply apologise to our fans and followers,” the coach was quoted as saying by CWI media.
The squad was expected to challenge for the trophy this time around after a dismal performance during the 2021 edition in the United Arab Emirates.
All of the players in the squad had successful performances during the just concluded Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 Tournament .
Those performances had raised high expectations amongst the region and global fans, as they had looked forward to some excitement in the tournament. But the disappointment has made the Head Coach accepting responsibility for the team’s dismal performance.
“From a personal perspective, this is not a knee jerk reaction, but a move I have been considering for some time and now is the time to make public that I will step down as West Indies Head Coach at the end of the Test series against Australia. It is earlier than hoped for, but I will now focus my energies in Australia on continuing to build on the excellent progress the Test team has made. Of course, as the President has pointed out, we will also carry out the necessary review into our World Cup campaign,” Simmons added.
The exit had prompted CWI President Ricky Skerritt to confirm that a review would be conducted to determine whether there was adequate preparation for the team.
“However, I want to assure stakeholders that a thorough postmortem will be carried out on all aspects of our world cup preparation, performance, and that solutions will be in keeping with CWI’s strategy to improve the quality and sustainability of cricket on all fronts and in all formats,” the CWI President declared.
