Cricket West Indies (CWI) has come out in support of the head coach Phil Simmons after the calls for the “immediate sacking” of the former batsman for moving out of the team’s bio-secure venue ahead of the three-match Test series against England starting on July 8 in Southampton.
Simmons has found himself in hot water after attending the funeral of his father-in-law last week in Manchester, as a CWI official Conde Riley, who also heads the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA), has called for the "immediate removal" of the current head coach for moving out of the bio-secure bubble.
Riley has described Simmons' decision to attend his father-in-law’s funeral as "inconsiderate and reckless", claiming the move has "endangered the lives" of the rest of the West Indian touring party in England due to the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak.
Since his return from a family funeral last Friday, Simmons has remained in self-isolation at his hotel room at Old Trafford and also twice tested negative for COVID-19 while his final test was to be taken on Wednesday that will make him able to join the West Indies at nets on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the CWI President Ricky Skerritt made it clear that Simmons has the full backing of the board regarding the matter since he was granted permission prior to the start of the tour while confirming that his job as West Indies head coach is “not in any way threatened.”
Skerritt said during a conference call on Wednesday, “I want to assure West Indies cricket fans that Phil Simmons still has the full backing of CWI, no matter what has been said.”
The CWI president added, “When all is said and done, Phil's job is not in any way threatened by that letter. He went through a very rigorous recruitment process nine months ago and was the best man we could have found for the job. He's still the best man.”
On the other hand, Simmons said he had no second thoughts about attending the funeral, adding “my wife, my daughters, and my son needed that support. Family is a huge thing for me.”
He signed off by saying, “This has not been an easy time for my family. My wife was very close to her father and his passing has hurt us. There was no question of me not going to the funeral. It won’t disrupt us; it will just make us a little stronger going into the Test series. Our focus is still on the series.”
(With PTI Inputs)
