Phil Simmons facts for kids
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name |
Philip Verant Simmons
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| Born | 18 April 1963 Arima, Trinidad and Tobago |
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| 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
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Philip Verant Simmons (born 18 April 1963) is a cricket coach and former player from Trinidad and Tobago. He is currently the coach of the Bangladesh national cricket team. Phil played international cricket for the West Indies from 1987 to 1999. He was an opening batsman and a right-arm medium pace bowler. He was especially good in One Day International (ODI) matches. He played for the West Indies in three World Cups.
After he stopped playing, Simmons became a cricket coach. He coached the West Indies team twice (2015–2016 and 2019–2022). He also coached Zimbabwe (2004–2005), Ireland (2007–2015), and Afghanistan (2017–2019). In 2016, he led the West Indies team to win the 2016 T20 World Cup.
Contents
Early Life and Cricket Beginnings
Phil Simmons grew up in Arima, Trinidad. His home was close to Port of Spain. A famous West Indies batsman, Larry Gomes, lived just two doors away. Phil was good at many sports. However, he was best at cricket. He soon played for his local team, East Zone. In 1983, he joined the Trinidad and Tobago team. This happened with help from Rohan Kanhai, who was his coach at East Zone.
Playing for Clubs
Phil Simmons played for several cricket clubs. In the Caribbean, he played for Trinidad and Tobago. In England, he played for Durham and Leicestershire. He also played for South African teams like Border and Easterns.
In 1996, Phil joined Leicestershire. In his first game for them, he scored 261 runs. This was his highest score ever in a first-class match. He hit 34 fours and four sixes in that game. That year, he scored 1,244 runs and took 56 wickets. He also caught 35 balls. His great performance helped Leicestershire win the 1996 County Championship. This was only the second time in their history they had won it. Phil also won the PCA Player of the Year award in 1996.
Because of his success, he was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1997. Phil helped Leicestershire win another County Championship title in 1998. During that season, he even became captain for a short time. Under his leadership, Leicestershire won six games in a row. They then won the championship. Throughout his first-class career, Phil scored 11,682 runs. He also took 214 wickets.
A Serious Injury
In 1988, Phil Simmons was playing a match in England. He was hit on the head by a very fast ball. This happened while playing against Gloucestershire. His heart stopped, and he needed emergency surgery. Luckily, he made a full recovery.
International Cricket Career
Phil Simmons found Test cricket challenging. He scored only one century (100 runs) in his Test career. This was 110 runs against Australia in 1992–93. He finished his Test career in 1997. He played 26 matches in total.
However, Phil was much better at One Day International (ODI) matches. He played 143 ODI games between 1987 and 1999. He started his ODI career at the 1987 Cricket World Cup. He scored two half-centuries (50 or more runs) in that tournament. In the 1992 Cricket World Cup, he scored 110 runs against Sri Lanka.
In December 1992, Phil had an amazing bowling performance. He took 4 wickets for only 3 runs in 10 overs against Pakistan. This is still a world record for the most economical bowling in an ODI. This means he gave away the fewest runs. He was named player of the series in the 1993–94 Champions Trophy. He scored 330 runs in that series. He played in the 1999 Cricket World Cup, which was his last ODI tournament.
Coaching Career
Phil Simmons stopped playing cricket in 2002. He then started a career as a coach. His first coaching job was at an academy in Harare, Zimbabwe. In May 2004, he became the head coach of the Zimbabwe team. He coached them until August 2005.
After Zimbabwe, Phil became the coach of the Ireland national cricket team in 2007. During his time with Ireland, the team won many trophies. They also qualified for all major international cricket events. He led Ireland to famous wins against England in the 2011 Cricket World Cup. They also beat the West Indies and Zimbabwe in the 2015 Cricket World Cup. Phil coached Ireland for over 224 matches. This made him their longest-serving coach.
In March 2015, he became the head coach of his home team, the West Indies. In 2016, he led the West Indies to win the 2016 T20 World Cup in India. This was a big achievement for the team.
He later worked as a batting coach for the Afghanistan national cricket team. He then became their head coach in 2017. In October 2019, he was again appointed head coach of the West Indies team. He coached them until the end of 2022.
In 2023, the Pakistan Super League team Karachi Kings hired him as their head coach. In 2024, he worked as a special coach for the Papua New Guinea national cricket team. This was for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. On 15 October 2024, Phil Simmons became the coach of the Bangladesh national cricket team.
Personal Life
Phil Simmons is a big fan of the English football club Tottenham Hotspur. His nephew, Lendl Simmons, is also a cricketer who has played for the West Indies.
