[UPDATED] Simmons not worried over position as West Indies coach

PHIL SIMMONS is not worried over his position as coach of the West Indies cricket team, despite poor results in the white-ball formats (One Day Internationals and T20 Internationals) for the past five months.

The West Indies lost the four-match T20 series at home to Pakistan 1-0, which was followed by a disappointing title defence at the 2021 T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

The Caribbean side were whitewashed 3-0 away to Pakistan in their T20 series and, last week, were beaten 2-1 at home to Ireland in a three-game ODI series.

During a zoom media conference on Tuesday, Simmons said, “If I start worrying about my job, then I have problems.”

“I am worrying about the success of the team, I am worrying about how we get players to play their roles and the team to be playing their roles, if the team is to be successful. That’s all I’m concerned about,” he added.

“You’re always under pressure as a coach (or part of a coaching staff) when the team is not doing well, in any sport you play, and when the team is doing well, the coaches are forgotten. That’s the nature of the job.”

The West Indies, who were put in to bat in all three matches against Ireland, failed to complete their allotted 50 overs on each occasion, but Simmons said the coaching staff, particularly batting coach Monty Desai, is still making working hard to ensure the batsmen improve their game-awareness.

“I think we’re still getting through,” said Simmons. “It was a difficult pitch to bat on, on all three days, at the start but we got through most of the difficult periods and then things went astray.” The former Trinidad and Tobago and WI all-rounder added, “I think it’s bad shot selection and that comes down to assessing the situation of the game.”

He hopes the players in the T20 squad who did not feature against the Irish, particularly Darren Bravo, Fabian Allen, Dominic Drakes, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell and Hayden Walsh jnr, can be a boost to the ‘white-ball’ team.

Simmons said, “There is a difference from the World Cup (experience). In Pakistan, we lost the three games but there was a lot more energy, a lot more enthusiasm and that’s the group that’s coming into here against England. As a coach, you’ve got to keep trying to make sure that we look at the next game and improve in all aspects. “It’s a difficult situation, it’s not the same team from the World Cup but we have a lot of new faces, a lot of guys that want to make an impression and be a part of the team going forward.”

Asked about any interaction as yet with the new members of the selection panel – chairman Desmond Haynes and Ramnaresh Sarwan, Simmons replied, “They will be in action from the India tour (in February), for the India ODIs and T20s.”

The West Indies will begin a five-game T20 series against England, in Barbados, on Saturday. The other T20 fixtures are set for January 23, 26, 29 and 30. All games will bowl off at 4 pm (TT time).

This story has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

PHIL Simmons is not worried over his position as coach of the West Indies cricket team, despite poor results in the white-ball formats (One Day Internationals and T20 Internationals) for the past five months.

The West Indies lost the four-match T20 series at home to Pakistan 1-0, which was followed by a disappointing title defence at the 2021 T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

The Caribbean side were whitewashed 3-0 away to Pakistan in their T20 series and last week were beaten 2-1 at home to Ireland in a three-game ODI series.

During a zoom media conference on Tuesday, Simmons said, “If I start worrying about my job, then I have problems.”

“I am worrying about the success of the team, I am worrying about how we get players to play their roles and the team to be playing their roles, if the team is to be successful. That’s all I’m concerned about,” he added.

“You’re always under pressure as a coach (or part of a coaching staff) when the team is not doing well, in any sport you play, and when the team is doing well, the coaches are forgotten. That’s the nature of the job.”

The West Indies will begin a five-game T20 series against England, in Barbados, on Saturday.