West Indies contemplating interim coach for SA tour after Simmons exit

St John’s [Antigua], November 1 (ANI): Jimmy Adams, the director of cricket at Cricket West Indies (CWI), disclosed that they are thinking about hiring a temporary head coach until the team’s tour of South Africa, which will go until the end of March, as the team’s current coach Phil Simmons is set to exit in December.
Adams expressed optimism that the CWI will decide by the end of this week whether it would name a temporary coach for the senior men’s squad of the West Indies or a number of coaches for various formats. He also notes that those negotiations are currently ongoing.
Simmon’s final task as West Indies head coach will be a visit to Australia. He submitted his resignation following West Indies’ “unfathomable” first-round loss from the nation’s T20 World Cup earlier this month. The crucial task for West Indies the following year begins on February 28 with an all-format trip to South Africa and ends on March 28.
“There are two issues to look at. Obviously, given the schedule that we have, which is Test cricket in Zimbabwe and South Africa from the end of January right through until (March)…I think the white-ball games against South Africa will go into March. Do we first of all split the roles and how long are we going to give ourselves the time in which to recruit? By that I mean, is it that we are going to do an interim situation maybe until the end of South Africa (tour) or do we actually start recruiting right away (for a full-time coach). These are decisions that are before us now and I am hoping that by the end of this week coming that we will have some firm decisions to sort of guide the way forward…these are all the questions being considered right now as we speak,” said Adams as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
West Indies suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of Ireland in the T20 World Cup qualification stage to be knocked out of the tournament in a humiliating turn of events or the two-time World T20 champions.
Phil Simmons on decided to step down as West Indies coach after his team crashed out in the first round of the ongoing T20 World Cup in Australia, an outcome he described as “unfathomable”.
Simmons has been in charge of the West Indies over two separate stints since 2015 and was at the helm when he led the Caribbean side to their second T20 World Cup title at Eden Gardens in Kolkata in 2016.
The ongoing T20 World Cup in Australia was a disappointing one for the West Indies, with Simmons leading the side to just one win from three matches as they were bundled out of the tournament in the First Round.
His last assignment will be the upcoming two-Test series against Australia from November 30 to December 12.
“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 released by Cricket West Indies.
“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. Of course, as the President has pointed out, we will also carry out the necessary review into our World Cup campaign,” he added.
“I must say I have enjoyed aspects of the unique challenge that being West Indies Head Coach provides and the unwavering support of my Management Team. There remain some exceptional individuals within CWI who I firmly believe will continue to work in the best interests of West Indies cricket,” Simmons further stated. (ANI)