ICC World T20 | Phil Simmons steps down as West Indies head coach after team’s exit in first round
After their first-round exit in the ongoing T20 World Cup, West Indies have suffered another blow as their head coach Phil Simmons has declared his resignation from the position. Simmons’ final assignment will be the two-match Test series against Australia starting from November 30.
West Indies’ early exit from the T20 World Cup must be disappointing for the nation but the team has also suffered another blow as Phil Simmons will quit as head coach of the team. He will draw curtains on his role in a coaching capacity after the conclusion of the two-match Test series against Australia on November 30.
The two-time World Cup winners have been struggling to excel in the format resulting in early exits from the last two editions. The team lost four games out of five in 2021 while they suffered shocking defeats against Scotland and Ireland this time around. In an official statement by Cricket West Indies(CWI), Simmons stated that the exit was ‘disappointing’ and heart-wrenching.
"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,” Simmons said in an official statement.
"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.”
Simmons had impressed in his first tenure with the Caribbean team guiding them to the 2016 World Cup victory. He was appointed again in 2019 and the team's form in Test cricket improved but T20Is saw a different story. Despite the presence of T20 stars like Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Kieron Pollard the team failed to succeed in the previous edition while this time they were thumped by the minnows.