The sacking saga continues in the WICB with Phil Simmons' ouster

The friction between the West Indian Cricket Board and its players continues to increase with yet another sacking of a member who was popular with the West Indian players. Phil Simmons has been sacked as the coach of West Indies, just more than a year after he settled into the position after the 2015 World Cup.

His last assignment was the 4-match Test series at home vs India which West Indies conceded 0-2. Despite the sudden nature of the announcement, the WICB said the conclusion to drop Simmons was taken at the board of directors meeting last weekend. Under Simmons, West Indies were successful in just 1 of the 14 Tests and failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy next year because of a short period during which they suffered their lowest over ODI rank 9. They, however, did find success in the shortest format, winning the World T20 in India, and a couple of bilateral series.

As for the reason behind the sacking, the WICB didn’t feel the need to mention that in its statement which said, “In recent times, based on the public pronouncements of the coach and the approach internally, we have identified differences in culture and strategic approach. The WICB would therefore like to thank the coach for his contribution and wishes him the best in his future endeavours.” It remains to be seen which candidates, the board has in mind to replace Simmons.

The team will be leaving shortly to the UAE for the series against Pakistan and will be supervised by legendary fast bowler Joel Garner- the team manager, and a couple of assistant coaches, Henderson Springer and Roddy Estwick. Reports also indicated that former WI captain Jimmy Adams, who is currently coaching Kent is also in the running to potentially replace Simmons.

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The WICB has had a major revamp and made some tough decisions in the past month. The newly led selection panel by Courtney Browne had sacked 2 time World Cup winning champion skipper on the basis of “poor performances”. Dinesh Ramdin had also been vocal about his sacking with the board. It also parted ways with bowling consultant Curtly Ambrose, which had “shocked and disappointed” Ambrose who claimed that the board had given no prior indication of their intentions and the official statement did not state a reason for his “sudden” sacking. The WICB’s chief executive Micheal Muirhead had also stepped down after a 4-year stint.

The board has been in a tricky situation with its players and officials for some time now. Darren Sammy had an emotional outpour after winning the World T20 for which he was officially reprimanded. Dwayne Bravo called the board, “the most unprofessional board in the world” and Shivnarine Chanderpaul had been vocal about how “his exit was not treated properly by the selectors”.

This underlying agitation has continued from the turmoil caused in 2014, when West Indian players, led by Dwayne Bravo backed out of the India tour due to “wage disputes”. That act had also resulted in the long exodus of star West Indies players that didn’t feature in ODI cricket since, including Bravo himself.

With the constant disputes between the board and its players, WICB has made some huge decisions, which has had an impact on both its structure, as well as the team selections. It remains to be seen what decisions the board will take next, and how they will affect West Indies cricket that continues to be in an exponential downward spiral that it struggles to find a way out of. At such fragile times in West Indies cricket, an unsupportive cricket board can be even more demoralizing for the players and their managers.

Written by Yash Gupta

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