Smoother Simmons stint should bring WI success

In commenting on the highly predicted appointment of Phil Simmons as the new West Indies team head coach, Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Ricky Skerritt unleashed a powerful straight drive on his predecessor Whycliffe “Dave” Cameron, who fired Simmons three years ago.

It was a real “buckle pop”.

“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,” Kittitian Skerritt, who became president on March 24 with an 8-4 win over Cameron, said in a CWI media release on Monday.

“I want to also thank the very talented Floyd Reifer for the hard work he put in while he was the interim coach.”

A CWI panel interviewed six candidates, later shortlisted to three.

Reifer, fellow Barbadian Desmond Haynes and Trinidadian Simmons – all former West Indies players – were the contenders in the final showdown. Like the typical opener he was, Haynes was the first to be interviewed, followed by Reifer and Simmons. The rest is history.

The appointment of the 56-year-old Simmons was confirmed for a four-year spell by the CWI board of directors.

Simmons was controversially sacked after West Indies won the 2016 Twenty20 World Cup in India when Cameron, a Jamaican, was the president.

Simmons had sued the board at the time, for unfair dismissal and earlier this year accepted an apology and an undisclosed amount that brought the case to an end. He last served as the coach of Afghanistan until the recent World Cup in England, and last Sunday won the 2019 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) coaching the Barbados Tridents. And oh, heartiest congratulations to the Tridents, captained by Barbadian all-rounder Jason Holder, who is the West Indies Test captain.

Simmons also coached Ireland between 2007 and 2015, helping them qualify for three straight World Cups.

So let’s reflect on his previous stint as the West Indies coach and the events, which led to his removal.

Simmons was first appointed as head coach in March, 2015, on a three-year contract. He was one of seven people interviewed for the post.

“Following his eight years of unparalleled success with ICC Associate team Ireland, which he led to two 50-overs and four Twenty20 World Cups, as well as the Associates treble two years ago, Simmons was the outstanding candidate,” the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), as it was then known, said.

“We are thrilled with the appointment of Phil and we believe he is the right individual for our team and our region at this time, so we want to welcome him back home,” then WICB Chief Executive Officer Michael Muirhead, said.

“Phil has a proven ability to develop players, while cultivating great team spirit and a winning culture. We have a number of young, talented players about whom he is excited to be coaching and we believe he is the right fit.”

Muirhead added: “Phil has impressed us with his understanding of the current realities of West Indies cricket and his ability to articulate practical examples and strategies of things that could be implemented within the team to improve performance.

“His independence of character and his resolve to stand up for what he believes in were also strong qualities that convinced us that Phil was best suited to usher the West Indies team into a new era of success.”

Simmons, who played 26 Tests and 143 One-day Internationals for West Indies between 1987 and 1999, acknowledged it was difficult to leave Ireland, but coaching the West Indies team was too good an opportunity to let pass.

“West Indies have a tremendous history and prestige in the game, and I am honoured to have been given this opportunity to be head coach,” he said.

“There is an abundance of young talent coming through the ranks and to be able to assist with the development of the future playing talent in the West Indies is fantastic. I can’t wait to begin and I am looking forward to starting work with the players.

“I am excited to be beginning this new chapter in my coaching career and to have the opportunity to create a winning culture.

“West Indies have a huge following across the world and I have great admiration for the passion fans show for our team. We are determined to give the supporters the brand of cricket and the level of success that we are all looking to achieve.”

Simmons’ first task was to oversee the West Indies team for the Test Series against England in the Caribbean the following month.

It was on September 13, 2016 that he was fired. And the WICB issued the following statement.

“Effectively immediately, the WICB today announced it has separated from the head coach Phil Simmons. In a meeting of the Board of Directors, on Saturday, September 10, this decision was taken.

“In recent times, based on the public pronouncements of the coach and the approach internally, we have identified differences in culture and strategic approach. The WICB would therefore like to thank the coach for his contribution and wishes him the best in his future endeavours.

“The senior team is preparing for its upcoming assignments against Pakistan in the UAE. The team will be headed by manager Joel Garner, coaches Henderson Springer and Roddy Estwick.”

One year earlier, on November 10, 2015, the WICB had reinstated Simmons after he was suspended from his duties after inappropriately commenting on and disclosing the specific voting of individual selectors of the WICB’s Selection Panel when selecting the West Indies Men’s Senior Squad to tour Sri Lanka in October and November 2015.

Simmons’ reinstatement was conditioned upon:

– issuance to him of a letter of reprimand for his inappropriate public comments; and

– Simmons making a public apology to the WICB and persons whom he may have offended.

“Going forward, and as a separate matter, the WICB will immediately investigate the allegations made by Simmons, and take the necessary and appropriate action following this investigation,” the Board said.

A 15-member Test squad for the tour of Australia, starting later that month, was also announced.

Simmons had encountered a rough passage with his fellow selectors and the WICB Director of Cricket, Richard Pybus.

He was the third successive West Indies head coach to be fired, following his immediate predecessor, Barbadian Ottis who was also a former West Indies player, and John Dyson, a former Australian batsman.

Dyson was sacked in August 2009 after 21 months of a three-year contract, while Gibson was also an August victim, in 2014.

Gibson had been in the job since February 2010, and had signed a second contract, which was expected to end in February 2016.

Dyson had differences with the captain and team manager, while reports suggested that Gibson was a victim of the dressing room.

Like Simmons, Gibson was preparing for a series when he was fired.

Simmons had made it clear that he and Pybus communicated through emails.

His suspension had stemmed from a media conference at the 3Ws Oval as West Indies were wrapping up a one-week camp.

Clearly unhappy with the exclusion of the experienced all-rounders Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard – both from Trinidad & Tobago – for the ODI tour to Sri Lanka, Simmons said there was “interference from outside”.

He later apologised and described his actions as “a schoolboy error in a moment of madness”.

At that time, Simmons said Bravo and Pollard had backing from him and the then chairman of selectors, Clive Lloyd as well as the Test and ODI captain Jason Holder, who did not have a vote.

But Simmons went even further by stating that he and Lloyd were outvoted 3-2 in a selection meeting with the other selectors being Courtney Browne, Courtney Walsh and Eldine Baptiste.

That is all history and Simmons now returns to the position with the knowledge that he has admirers as well as detractors.

West Indies had been without a full-time coach since the CWI management led by Skerritt ended Pybus’ stint in April this year – just weeks before the World Cup – following a review of the team’s coaching and selection policies. Reifer had been at the helm since.

CWI’s director of cricket Jimmy Adams, who was also one of the members on the interview panel, said: “I am happy, after a very robust recruitment process at the appointment of Phil to the role of head coach. I have no doubt that Phil brings the requisite leadership skills and experience needed to drive improvement across our international squads and I look forward to supporting him in the role.”

That the position would go to a West Indian was made clear by the board before the selection process even began. They had said last month that “persons without West Indian heritage need not apply” for the role.

The new selection panel for the men’s team includes former Guyana and West Indies off-spinning all-rounder Roger Harper (lead selector) and Miles Bascombe, a 33-year-old Vincentian, who played one Twenty20 International for West Indies; the women’s and girls’ panel includes Ann Browne-John (lead selector) and Travis Dowlin, and the boys’ panel comprises Robert Haynes.

Dowlin, a Guyanese and former West Indies selector, played in Tests, ODIs and T20s, while Jamaican Haynes only turned out in ODIs.

In relation to the appointment of Bascombe, it is amazing that some critics have questioned his inexperience as a first-class player. What does that have to do with being a selector?

There were two other main contenders in Henderson Wallace, a former long-standing chairman of the Barbados selectors and former Windward Islands batsman Lockhart Sebastien, who was a member of the previous selection panel led by former Barbados captain and West Indies wicket-keeper/batsman Courtney Browne.

If Wallace, who did not play at the first-class level, had been appointed as a selector, one wonders what arguments the critics would have put on the table.

Keith Holder is a veteran, award-winning freelance sports journalist, who has been covering local, regional and International cricket since 1980 as a writer and commentator. He has compiled statistics on the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) Division 1 (now Elite) Championship for over three-and-a-half decades and is responsible for editing the BCA website (www.bcacricket.org).Email: Keithfholder@gmail.com