Phil Simmons, who led West Indies to victory in the 2016 T20 World Cup, has joined Papua New Guinea (PNG) as a ‘specialist coach’ for the upcoming 2024 edition of the tournament. Cricket PNG announced Simmons’ recruitment due to his extensive experience with local conditions, aiming to leverage his knowledge for their campaign.
Simmons’ tenure with West Indies ended after their group-stage exit in the 2022 T20 World Cup. Since then, he has coached various franchise teams including Trinbago Knight Riders, LA Knight Riders, and Karachi Kings. In PNG, he will assist head coach Tatenda Taibu, the former Zimbabwe wicketkeeper.
Simmons expressed enthusiasm about his role, stating, “My role here is as a consultant coach and [will be about] how I put across my experience, not just playing in World Cups but playing in the Caribbean and the things that we should be looking at to make sure we do it right in the Caribbean and especially the venues that we play at.”
He added, “As a player internationally, for fourteen years and then as an international coach for eighteen years, it’s been a long time in the game. It’s always brilliant to come home, always brilliant to come back to any part of the West Indies. You know how beautiful it is here. I’m looking forward to getting home, which is Trinidad.”
Commenting on the team’s energy, Simmons said, “Their energy is unbelievable: their warm-up alone yesterday got me tired. The guys look like they have settled in really well… I’ve known the head coach for a long time and he’s always energetic. There is always a lot of energy, but the players seem to be pushing him where that is not so, and I like that atmosphere in the team.”
PNG, led by batter Assad Vala, will play in Group C, facing co-hosts West Indies, Uganda, Afghanistan, and New Zealand in the group stage. This will be PNG’s second T20 World Cup appearance, following a winless debut in 2021.
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