Commentator takes dim view on Simmons legacy

THE ERA of Phil Simmons as head coach of the West Indies senior men’s team will culminate following a two-match Test series Down Under against Australia, with the first Test set to start on November 29.

Simmons announced his decision to step away from the post after the Caribbean team failed to progress beyond the qualifying stage of the ongoing World T20 tournament for the second successive time.

According to senior cricket analyst, Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira, Simmons’ three-year stint as head coach is nothing to write home about.

“I don’t think that he’ll be remembered as a successful coach by any means. If you look at the win-loss situation, it speaks for itself. What Caribbean people felt at the time is that he should have been given a two-year contract instead of four years outright. We were expecting to see an improvement in the side and we didn’t quite see that,” said Perreira.

Simmons will hope to extend the team’s win streak in Test series to three.

West Indies’ last Test tour of Australia came in 2016 when they lost 2-0 in a three-match series and their last series victory on Australian soil was 29 years ago, when they won 2-1 in a five-match series. For Perreira, this tour could prove tricky for Kraigg Brathwaite and his charges. “We just have to wait and see. Australia just had a major disappointment of not making it to the semis of the T20 World Cup, but that will not be reflected in their Test selection. Their Test selections are going to be strong and I think playing at Perth will favour the Australian fast bowlers, and it will be very testing times for our players,” Perreira believes.

Unavailability of players

With regard to the poor showing the West Indies displayed in the shorter format of the game, Perreira argues that Simmons was let down by the unavailability of players on several occasions.

“During his (Phil Simmons) tenure players became unavailable for a set tour, and that didn’t quite help him. Some of the players were also not that keen on playing for the West Indies and that has been happening for some time now.

“I think that some players didn’t seem to work hard enough on their game and didn’t seem to be able, when the pressure is on in the middle, to make the adjustments. They seem to have lacked the fight and determination and we didn’t see that resolute effort,” added Perreira.

Still, Perreira asserts that Simmons should take responsibility for his players’ obvious and continuous struggles.

‘It is the coach who should calls the practice sessions, and decide whether some players need special attention.”

orane.buchanan@gleanerjm.com