Simmons: Right West Indies team, wrong shot selection
WEST INDIES coach Phil Simmons blamed poor shot selection for the team’s dismal batting performance against England in their opening International Cricket Council T20 World Cup on Saturday but believes the squad can bounce back against South Africa on Tuesday.England thrashed West Indies by six wickets with 70 balls to spare as they dismissed the Caribbean team for a paltry 55 runs and, in reply, cruised to 56/4 in 8.2 overs.A shabby opening display by the defending champions saw the team’s most publicly-criticised selection, Chris Gayle, topscore with 13 runs.Simmons, a former Trinidad and Tobago and WI all-rounder, credited Hosein’s start to the competition dubbing it “heartening”. However, although ruing the team’s devastating loss, he believes the maroon has enough experience to assess challenging situations, adapt and play accordingly.
Simmons defended his decision but said that, after assessing Monday's training session, there may be the likelihood of changes to the first XI.
“There are no regrets about leaving out anyone," said the WI coach. "I know we are disappointed and embarrassed. It’s something that we look back on as a one-off and making sure that we lift our game.
“We’ve had a couple good days of team bonding and a major part of it was practice. The mood is extremely high. Tomorrow (Monday) we will look at things again after practice and see what the combination we want to go into the next match with,” he added.Simmons closed, “Every game from now is extremely important. The message we want to put out against South Africa is that we’ve learnt from this defeat and we are assessing our situation of the game a lot better; batting, bowling and fielding.”
Simmons defended his decision but said that, after assessing Monday's training session, there may be the likelihood of changes to the first XI.
“There are no regrets about leaving out anyone," said the WI coach. "I know we are disappointed and embarrassed. It’s something that we look back on as a one-off and making sure that we lift our game.
“We’ve had a couple good days of team bonding and a major part of it was practice. The mood is extremely high. Tomorrow (Monday) we will look at things again after practice and see what the combination we want to go into the next match with,” he added.Simmons closed, “Every game from now is extremely important. The message we want to put out against South Africa is that we’ve learnt from this defeat and we are assessing our situation of the game a lot better; batting, bowling and fielding.”
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