West Indies have appointed former boss Phil Simmons as their new head coach across all formats until 2023.
Ex-Windies opener Simmons, who has also coached Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Afghanistan, led his nation to T20 World Cup glory in 2016. However, he was later sacked due to “differences in culture and strategic approach.”
Floyd Reifer took charge in April this year when Richard Pybus was relieved of his duties ahead of the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales.
Despite looking good in their warm-up matches of the tournament, Jason Holder & Co. failed to impress in the main event and knocked out in the league stage.
BREAKING: CWI APPOINTS PHIL SIMMONS AS NEW HEAD COACH OF WEST INDIES SENIOR MEN’S TEAM pic.twitter.com/BtmHBMEE8h
— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) October 14, 2019
The Windies have returned back to Simmons, who recently led the Barbados Tridents to the 2019 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title after taking charge of Afghanistan in the World Cup, with the 56-year-old set to coach the side for next four years.
“Bringing Phil Simmons back is not just righting a past wrong, but I am confident that Cricket West Indies (CWI) has chosen the right man for the job at the right time,” CWI president Ricky Skerritt said in a statement.
“I want to also thank the very talented Floyd Reifer for the hard work he put in while he was the interim coach.”
Simmons’ first task will be to coach the Holder’s side for three T20Is, three ODIs and one Test against Afghanistan in India, with the tour starting in November.
