Phil Simmons facts for kids

Philip Verant Simmons (born on April 18, 1963) is a famous cricket coach and former player from Trinidad and Tobago. He is currently a coach for 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.

Phil was especially good at the One Day International (ODI) format of cricket. He even played for the West Indies in three different World Cups. After he stopped playing, Simmons became a head coach for the West Indies team twice. He also coached teams like Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Afghanistan. A big highlight of his coaching career was leading the West Indies to win the 2016 T20 World Cup.

Early Life and Cricket Start

Phil Simmons grew up in Arima, a town in Trinidad. His neighbor was Larry Gomes, another well-known West Indies batsman. Phil was good at many sports, but he was best at cricket.

He quickly started playing for his local team, East Zone. In 1983, with help from his coach Rohan Kanhai, Phil began playing for Trinidad and Tobago. This was a big step in his cricket career.

Playing for Clubs

Phil Simmons played for several cricket clubs during his career. In the West Indies, 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.

Amazing Season with Leicestershire

In 1996, Phil joined Leicestershire and had an amazing debut. He scored 261 runs in one game, which was his highest score ever! He hit 34 fours and four sixes in that match. That season, he scored 1,244 runs, took 56 wickets, and caught 35 balls. His efforts helped Leicestershire win the 1996 County Championship for only the second time in their history.

Because of his great performance, Phil won the PCA Player of the Year award in 1996. The next year, he was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year, which is a very special honor in cricket.

Leading Leicestershire to Victory

Phil also helped Leicestershire win another County Championship title in 1998. During that season, he even became the team captain for a while. Under his leadership, Leicestershire won six games in a row and secured the championship.

Throughout his first-class career, Phil scored 11,682 runs. He made 24 centuries (scores of 100 or more runs) and 65 half-centuries (scores of 50 or more runs). He also took 214 wickets, showing he was a great all-round player.

A Serious Injury on Tour

In 1988, during his first tour of England, Phil had a scary moment. While playing a match against Gloucestershire, he was hit on the head by a very fast ball. This happened in poor light conditions. His heart actually stopped, and he needed emergency surgery. Luckily, he made a full recovery and was able to continue his career.

International Cricket Career

Phil Simmons played for the West Indies at the international level.

Test Matches

It was a bit tough for Phil to do well in Test cricket. He only scored one century in his Test career, which was 110 runs against Australia in 1992-93. He played 26 Test matches and finished with an average of 22.26 runs.

One Day International Success

Phil was much better at the international one-day game. He played 143 ODI matches between 1987 and 1999. He started his ODI career at the 1987 Cricket World Cup, where he scored two half-centuries.

At the 1992 Cricket World Cup, he played four matches, including scoring 110 runs against Sri Lanka. In December 1992, Phil had an incredible bowling performance against Pakistan. He bowled 10 overs, gave away only 3 runs, and took 4 wickets! This is still a world record for the most economical bowling in an ODI match for someone who bowled all their overs.

He was named player of the series in the 1993-94 Champions Trophy, scoring 330 runs. Although he missed the 1996 World Cup, he returned for the 1999 Cricket World Cup, where he played his final ODI match against Australia.

Coaching Career Highlights

After ending his playing career in 2002, Phil Simmons became a cricket coach.

Coaching Zimbabwe and Ireland

His first coaching job was at an academy in Zimbabwe. In 2004, he became the head coach of the Zimbabwe national cricket team. The team was going through a tough time, but Phil worked hard to help them.

Later, he became the coach of the Ireland national cricket team after the 2007 World Cup. Under his guidance, Ireland won many trophies and qualified for all major international cricket events. He led them to famous wins against England at the 2011 Cricket World Cup and against the West Indies and Zimbabwe at the 2015 Cricket World Cup. Phil coached Ireland for over 224 matches, making him their longest-serving coach.

Leading the West Indies

In March 2015, Phil accepted the offer to become the head coach of his home team, the West Indies. The West Indies Cricket Board believed he was the right person to help develop young players and build a winning team spirit.

In 2016, he led the West Indies team to a historic second T20 World Cup victory in India. This was a huge achievement, as the team had been struggling. Phil helped them rise from near the bottom of the rankings back to prominence.

Other Coaching Roles

Phil also worked as a batting coach and later head coach for the Afghanistan national cricket team. In 2019, he coached the Brampton Wolves in the Global T20 Canada tournament. He was reappointed as the head coach of the West Indies team in October 2019, staying until the end of 2022.

In 2023, he became the head coach for the Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). In 2024, he joined the Papua New Guinea as a "specialist coach" for the T20 World Cup held in the Caribbean.

Most recently, on October 15, 2024, Phil Simmons was appointed as the coach of the Bangladesh national cricket team. He has a short-term contract until the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.

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.