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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday March 21, 2015
Simmons appointed new West Indies head coach ST JOHN’S, Antigua – The West Indies Cricket Board announced yesterday the appointment of Phil Simmons to the role of West Indies head coach on a three-year contract. The 51-year-old Simmons was one of seven persons interviewed for the post and following his eight years of unparalleled success with ICC Associate team Ireland, whom he led to two 50-overs and four Twenty20 World Cups, as well as the Associates treble two years ago, he was the outstanding candidate. “We are thrilled with the appointment of Phil and we believe he is the right individual for our team and
our region at this time, so we want to welcome him back home,” said WICB chief executive officer Michael Muirhead. “Phil has a proven ability to develop players, while cultivating great team spirit and a winning culture. We have a number of young, talented players about whom he is excited to be coaching and we believe he is the right fit.” Muirhead added: “Phil has impressed us with his understanding of the current realities of West Indies cricket and his ability to articulate practical examples and strategies of things that could be implemented within the team to improve
character and his resolve to stand up for what he believes in were also strong qualities that convinced us that Phil was best suited to usher the West Indies team into a new era of success.” Simmons, who played 26 Tests and 143 One-day Internationals for West Indies between 1987 and 1999, acknowledged it was difficult to leave Ireland, but coaching the West Indies team was too good an opportunity to let pass. “West Indies have a
Phil Simmons performance. “His independence of
tremendous history and prestige in the game, and I am honoured to have been given this opportunity to be head coach,” he said. “There is an abundance of young talent coming through the ranks and to be able to assist with the development of the future playing talent in the West Indies is fantastic. I can’t wait to begin and I am looking forward to starting work with the players.” He said: “I am excited to be beginning this new chapter in my coaching career and
to have the opportunity to create a winning culture. West Indies have a huge following across the world and I have great admiration for the passion fans show for our team. We are determined to give the supporters the brand of cricket and the level of success that we are all looking to achieve.” Simmons’ first task will be to oversee the West Indies team for the International Home Test Series against England next month.
Bitter end for Misbah and Afridi’s one-day careers
By Ian Ransom
Shahid Afridi
(REUTERS) - A crushing quarter-final loss to Australia at the World Cup yesterday was a heart-breaking swansong in one-day cricket for Pakistan captain Misbah-ulHaq and fellow veteran Shahid Afridi. Though Pakistan grafted hard to reach the knockout rounds, Australia ruthlessly exposed their batting frailty, which will be further undermined by the seasoned pair’s retirements. Over eight Pakistan batsmen scored 10 or more runs in their modest total of 213, but none could build on it, and both Misbah and former skipper Afridi were among those who failed to convert their starts. The 40-year-old Misbah, who finishes his one-day career without a century, slogswept straight to a fielder at deep midwicket to be out for 34. If surprising for a batsman renowned for his reserve, the explosive Afridi’s dismissal for 23 was less unexpected, albeit a carbon copy of his captain’s demise. A third batsman in Umar Akmal would hit straight to Aaron Finch near the rope to squander his positive start of 20 and with their batsmen failing to provide a total to defend, Pakistan’s bowlers were let down by two
Misbah-ul-Haq dropped catches in the field that could have changed the complexion of the match. Australia all-rounder Shane Watson was dropped on four and Glenn Maxwell spilled on five, the pair capitalising to build an unbeaten partnership of 68 to close out a sixwicket victory. Misbah lamented his side’s poor shot selection and forecast a grim future for Pakistan if administrators failed to crack the whip in the domestic leagues to improve standards. “Especially we need to improve our batting. This has been now a problem for almost three/four years,” he told reporters after scoring his 3 000th run as captain. “We are not up to the mark, up to the standards, international standards. We need to really improve that. And also fielding is another aspect where all the other international teams are really going up to a higher level and we really need to improve that, and obviously that comes with fitness. “A lot of steps have been taken by the cricket board and just trying to develop that sort of system, fitness culture in Pakistani domestic cricket. But still, we are not there, and I think we need to really improve that, otherwise we’re going to suffer in the future.”