Vinode Mamchan
Published:
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
West Indies Head coach Phil Simmons has been sacked by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) following their quarterly meeting over the weekend in Dominica.
The Trinidad Guardian exclusively reported last week ahead of the meeting that Simmons’ tenure as coach was under review and news coming to hand is that he has been relieved off his duties with the regional outfit.
The Arima-born, former West Indies allrounder confirmed for us yesterday that he has been fired but did not comment any further on the matter.
Simmons enjoyed a shaky relationship with WICB’s director of cricket Richard Pybus and was even suspended last October for comments he made concerning ‘interference’ in the selection process.
The Trinidad Guardian understands from a reliable source that is close to the situation that the recommendation to sever ties with Simmons came from the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the WICB, Michael Muirhead after an appraisal was done of Simmons’ performance as Head coach.
According to the Source: “The CEO is the man who can bring such recommendations to the board directors. The directors can’t come up with this just like that. The recommendation came in, and after it was discussed at length, the directors decided that they had no choice but to act accordingly.”
It is alleged that in the opinion of the board, Simmons infringed the Antigua labour code enough to be removed.
The West Indies team leaves in a matter of days for Dubai where they play three T20s, three ODIs and three Tests against Pakistan. In the absence of Simmons, the team will be handled by assistant coach Henderson Springer and bowling consultant Roddy Estwick.
Simmons was appointed coach of the regional outfit in March last year and his contract was suppose to run until March 2018. The right hander who played 26 Tests and 143 One-day Internationals for West Indies between 1987 and 1999, left as coach of Ireland after the 2015 World Cup to come back home.
Simmons problems with the board started in September last year when he queried the continued omissions of all-rounders Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard, saying he was not getting the “best 50-over ODI squad”. He mentioned that there was ‘outside interference’ in the selection process and was suspended by the WICB.
The board in a statement back then said :“The management of the WICB has taken action to suspend the head coach pending an investigation into the issue.” Simmons returned as coach for the tour of Australia.
At the board meeting during the weekend, president Dave Cameron said that the performances of the West Indies senior team in Tests and ODIs was a business risk for the board and their performance will continue to come under the microscope.
Simmons, a former West Indies standout, retired from playing in 2002, then embarked on a successful coaching career. He was first appointed as the head coach to the Zimbabwe cricket team in 2004. This proved a difficult and controversial job, not least because he inherited a team heavily weakened thanks to the mass dismissal of most of the senior players.
He found himself having to defend the Test status of his country after an appalling losing streak, including a loss to Bangladesh who were widely seen as the worst Test side in the world. The Zimbabwe cricket union made him a scapegoat for the problems in the side and he was sacked under farcical conditions in August 2005 after persistent rumours of his impending dismissal. The official notice of his removal was dated two days before it was actually released.
Simmons succeeded Adrian Birrell as coach of the Ireland national cricket team after the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup. Simmons, a national of T&T, significantly improved Ireland's standing in world cricket as their coach. His tenure included 224 matches, making him the longest serving coach in international cricket.
During that time, Ireland won 11 trophies, qualified for every major ICC event, and achieved victories over Pakistan and Bangladesh at the 2007 World Cup, England at the 2011 World Cup and the West Indies and Zimbabwe at the 2015 World Cup.
In March of 2015, he accepted an offer to take charge of his native West Indies after the conclusion of the 2015 World Cup. He took over at a time when the former top ranking cricket team was in a period of significant struggles, and he was tasked with bringing the team from near the bottom of the top ten rankings and back into prominence.
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