After their first-round exit in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022, West Indies have suffered a major blow as their head coach Phil Simmons has decided to resign from the position. Simmons’ final assignment will be the two-match Test series against Australia starting on November 30.
The two-time World Cup winners have been struggling to do well in the tournament and it has resulted in them witnessing early exits from the last two editions. The team lost four matches 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.
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In an official statement regarding the same, Phil Simmons said, “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 apologize to our fans and followers.”
He further added, “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.”
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Phil 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.
