West Indies head coach Phil Simmons will step down from his role after the team’s dismal T20 World Cup campaign in Australia, Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced.
Simmons’ last assignment will be the Test series against Australia from November 30 to December 12.
West Indies suffered an early exit in the first round of the T20 World Cup. The team finished last in the four-team Group B, with only one win and two defeats. The teams that finished in the first and second positions progressed to the Super 12 stage of the tournament.
“I acknowledge that it’s not just the team that is hurting but the proud nations we represent as well,” Simmons said in a statement. “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.”
The Head coach also said that this was not a ‘knee-jerk reaction’ and he was contemplating such a move for sometime.
“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,” Simmons said.
Simmons earlier coached the 2016 World Cup-winning West Indies side. He was at the helm when West Indies earned a hard-fought 1-0 Test series win over England and clinched the Richards-Botham Trophy this year.
“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,” the outgoing coach added.
