West Indies head coach, Phil Simmons has been fired by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
Simmons is the 14th coach to be sacked over the past two decades. His firing comes on the heels of matches between the West Indies and Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In a press release the WICB stated: Effective immediately, the WICB today (September 13) announced it has separated from the head coach Phil Simmons”.
The board of directors made the decision to fire the 53 year-old on September l0.
“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 said.
Simmons, who took over as head coach of the regional team following the ICC World Cup last year, replacing Ottis Gibson was not afforded a long term at the helm, “crossing swords’ with the selection panel, which led to his suspension.
Simmons took over at a time when the WICB was struggling to come to terms with cricket officials in India over the abandoned West Indies tour.
Dwayne Bravo was subsequently fired as the ODI captain and was left out of the West Indies World Cup squad along with teammate Kieron Pollard.
Simmons alleged that there were outside influences in the selection of the ODI team for a tour of Sri Lanka late last year and was suspended for inappropriately commenting on the selection process, before being reinstated ahead of the tour of Australia in December.
Under Simmons, West Indies played 14 Tests, with only one victory. The senior team is currently preparing for the upcoming assignments against Pakistan in the UAE. The team will be managed by Joel Garner with coaches Henderson Springer and Roddy Estwick.
Simmons said he was totally disappointed by the WICB’s decision.
