West Indies coach Phil Simmons steps down after T20 World Cup debacle

West Indies head coach Phil Simmons on Tuesday has resigned from following their early elimination at the T20 World Cup exit.
The West Indies, two-times winners of the T20 World Cup, were bundled out in the first round after losses to Scotland and Ireland, finishing bottom of Group B.
Simmons will leave after the Windies’ two-test series against Australia starting on November 30.

JUST IN: The Windies fall-out from their #T20WorldCup disaster continueshttps://t.co/XoK7C1MslH pic.twitter.com/NpJtEijZAU
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) October 24, 2022
“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.”
“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.
“It is earlier than hoped for, but I will now focus my energies in Australia on continuing to build on the excellent progress the Test team has made.”

Simmons took over for his second stint in charge of the West Indies in 2019. In his first, the team won the world T20 title in 2016.
Simmons was at the helm in 2016 when West Indies won their second ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title defeating England at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Earlier this year he guided the team’s fortunes in their hard-fought 1-0 Test series win over England on home soil to capture the Richards-Botham Trophy.