PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC- Frustrated West Indies head coach Phil Simmons says he has not been successful in getting a number of new measures implemented to help improve the performance of the regional squad.
Simmons made his revelation during a news conference following the West Indies 2-0 defeat in the four-Test series against India.
The former Windies allrounder, head coach for a little over a year, says he has requested that a meeting of regional coaches be held about three times a year to review training modules, improvement in practice facilities and at least three competitive matches for the West Indies A team each year.
“There are a lot of things that I have asked for but it’s not coming to fruition. I have asked for coaches to meet twice maybe three times a year and discuss cricket,” Simmons disclosed.
“We need to make sure that whatever we are doing upstairs is going down to everybody. You and I might be two coaches and we coach differently but the same objective we need to have. If we don’t have the same objective then we are spinning top in mud”.
West Indies have been languishing at the bottom of the ICC rankings in Test cricket for some time now as officials ponder ways of reversing the trend.
In the recent series against India, a new- look West Indies side started disastrously by crashing to an innings and 92-run defeat inside four days but bounced back in the second Test to salvage a draw.
However Jason Holder’s men returned to their old ways when they suffered a crushing 237 defeat in third Test after being dismissed in their second innings for their second lowest ever Test score against India.
“I think we need to be closer as coaches and understand what we are trying to produce for the top level,” Simmons stressed.
“ I think things like our pitches and our practice facility need to be better, a lot better in order to produce players not just fast bowlers as we are lacking now but batsmen because the better the pitches the better your batsmen show themselves”.
Simmons has often lamented the lack of consistency in the regional side but has insisted that if the measures he is asking for are implemented the regional side will be more competitive against their opponents in Test.
“So I think little things like that we need to put in place. The gap between that and our cricket needs to be filled whether it’s with an academy which we don’t have right now,” he said.
“A team cricket which we have one a year…we should have two three a year. Something has to be done to fill that gap so we are missing a few things”.
