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| Full name | Philip Verant Simmons | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1963-04-18)18 April 1963 (age 62) Arima,Trinidad and Tobago | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm medium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Batting all-rounder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | Lendl Simmons (nephew) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side |
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| Test debut (cap 191) | 11 January 1988 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 17 November 1997 v Pakistan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI debut (cap 51) | 16 October 1987 v Pakistan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 30 May 1999 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983–2001 | Trinidad and Tobago | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1990 | Durham | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1993 | Border | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1998 | Leicestershire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–2000 | Easterns | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2002 | Wales Minor Counties | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coaching information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Zimbabwe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2015 | Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | West Indies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Afghanistan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2022 | West Indies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024–present | Bangladesh | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:Cricinfo,25 March 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Philip Verant Simmons (born 18 April 1963) is a Trinidadiancricket coach and former player who is currently a coach of theBangladesh national cricket team. He played international cricket for theWest Indies from 1987 to 1999 as anopening batsman and right-arm medium pace bowler. He excelled in theOne Day International (ODI) format and represented the West Indies at threeWorld Cups.
After retiring from playing, Simmons spent two periods as head coach of the West Indies (2015–2016 and 2019–2022). He has also spent stints in charge ofZimbabwe (2004–2005),Ireland (2007–2015), andAfghanistan (2017–2019). During his time with the West Indies, he led the team to victory in the2016 T20 World Cup.
Simmons' first home was inArima, Trinidad, a few miles outsidePort of Spain. He lived just two doors down fromLarry Gomes, a formerWest Indianbatsman. He proved to be adept at a number of sports, but excelled at cricket and was soon playing for the regional side East Zone. He made the leap to representTrinidad and Tobago in 1983 with the help and encouragement ofRohan Kanhai, the coach at East Zone.[1][2]
At the domestic level, Simmons featured forTrinidad and Tobago, English sidesDurham andLeicestershire, along with South African clubsBorder andEasterns.
During the 1996 season with Leicestershire, he marked his debut for the club in scoring 261, his highest score for the club, with 34 fours and four sixes againstNorthamptonshire. He went on to accumulate 1,244 runs with 56 wickets and 35 catches, helping his side to win theCounty Championship for only the second time in their history.[3][1][2] Simmons also won thePCAPlayer of the Year award in 1996.[4]
He was thereafter named as aWisden Cricketer of the Year in 1997. Simmons later helped Leicestershire to win anotherCounty Championship title in1998. During that campaign he took over the captaincy fromJames Whitaker andChris Lewis. At the time, Whitaker was ailing with an injury and Lewis was reprimanded for indiscipline. With Simmons at the helm, Leicestershire went on a six-match winning streak and eventually claimed the title with a resounding triumph overSurrey atThe Oval.[5][1][2] Simmons eventually scored 11,682 runs at an average of 35.61 with 24 hundreds and 65 half centuries as well as 214 wickets picked up at an average of 28.68 with a sum of five 5-wicket hauls in his first-class career.
During a 1988 tour match againstGloucestershire on hisdebut tour of England, Simmons was struck on the head by afast ball fromDavid Lawrence in bad light atBristol. His heart stopped and he required emergency surgery atFrenchay Hospital, from which he recovered fully.[3]
Like many before him, Simmons found the transition toTest cricket difficult, making only one century in his Test career (110 at Melbourne, during the West Indies'1992–93 tour of Australia, and finishing his career in 1997 with a batting average of just 22.26 in 26 matches.
Simmons proved more adept at the internationalone day game, playing a total of 143 ODI matches between 1987 and 1999. Starting his ODI career at the1987 World Cup, he made two half-centuries (50 against Pakistan and 89 against Sri Lanka). At the1992 edition, he played four matches including scoring 110 versus Sri Lanka. In December 1992, during the eighth match of theWorld Series Cup in Australia, Simmons won the Man of the Match award for his match-winning spell of 10 overs, 8 maidens, 3 runs, 4 wickets, with an economy of 0.30, against Pakistan.[6] With this, Simmons holds the world record for most economical bowling performance (in terms of the fewest runs conceded) in an ODI among those who completed their maximum quota of overs (10 overs in a 50-over match).[7] AtSharjah's Champions Trophy tri-series the following year, he was named player of the series; he scored three half-centuries and a total of 330 runs for the series. At the1995–96 Australian Tri-Series which also included Sri Lanka, Simmons failed to impress for which he was not selected for the1996 World Cup. He was, however, recalled prior to the1999 edition, where he played four matches, including his final ODI match, against Australia inManchester.
Simmons' playing days came to a close in 2002. He then embarked on a coaching career, firstly working at Zimbabwe'sHarare-based academy. In May 2004, he was appointed Zimbabwe's head coach, replacing Australia'sGeoff Marsh. This came as the team was weakened due to themass dismissal of several senior players.[8] He found himself having to defend Zimbabwe'sTest status in the midst of a losing streak, which included losses toBangladesh andNew Zealand. Simmons was eventually dismissed by theZimbabwe Cricket Union in August 2005.[3][9][10][11]
Simmons then succeededAdrian Birrell as coach of theIreland national cricket team after the2007 World Cup. During his tenure, Ireland won a number of trophies and qualified for every major ICC event. He also steered them to victories over England at the2011 World Cup, along with the West Indies and Zimbabwe at the2015 Cricket World Cup. Simmons was at the helm with Ireland for over 224 matches, making him the longest serving coach in international matches.
In March 2015, he accepted an offer to take charge as head coach of his native West Indies. WICB chief executive Michael Muirhead said of his signing, "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".
In 2016, he led the West Indies team to a historic second T20 World Cup victory in India. At the time the former top ranking cricket team was in a period of significant struggles, and he was tasked with bringing the team from near the bottom of the top ten rankings and back into prominence.
He was the batting coach forAfghanistan national cricket team and later on was appointed as the head coach in 2017.[3] In June 2019, he was named as the coach of the Brampton Wolves franchise team for the2019 Global T20 Canada tournament.[12] In October 2019, he was reappointed as the head coach of the West Indies team.[13]He resigned after the 2022 t20 World Cup in Australia but coached the team until the conclusion of the recently ended test tour of Australia.
ThePakistan Super League (PSL) franchiseKarachi Kings appointed him as the team head coach in 2023.[14] The following year, he was appointed 'specialist coach' ofPapua New Guinea ahead of theT20 World Cup. He was hired "as a consultant coach" for the tournament as it was to be held in the Caribbean.[15]
On 15 October 2024, Simmons was appointed as the coach of the Bangladesh men's national cricket team. He was given a short-term contract that extends until the2025 ICC Champions Trophy. Simmons replacedChandika Hathurusingha, who had been sacked due to disciplinary issues.[16]
Phil Simmons is a fan of English football clubTottenham Hotspur.[17] His nephewLendl Simmons is a cricketer who has also featured for the West Indies.[18]
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