West Indies cricket continues to be embroiled in controversy and although there have been some positives along the way, the negatives have far outweighed them.
The latest blow to West Indies cricket is the battle with coach Phil Simmons. Just months into the job, the Trinidadian has been suspended because of public comments he made concerning the omission of allrounders Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard. Simmons, speaking at a press conference in Barbados, said that the continued omission of Pollard and Bravo had to do with "outside interference." He was promptly suspended and replaced by Eldine Baptiste as coach for the current tour of Sri Lanka.
Let me say first up, I think that the public outburst by Simmons was out of order and I have no problems with the former Ireland coach being called before a human resource committee.
However, I think that suspending him was the wrong choice. The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) could have written to him and informed him that his comments in their opinion was out of line and that they could have met with him after the Sri Lankan tour to discuss his concerns.
If at that point they thought that his explanation was not good enough and his comments caused irreparable damage, then they could have gone the route of sending him to the disciplinary committee.
Removing him now at this critical juncture is not going to do anything to take this team forward. In fact in my humble view, I think that the team's morale has already been affected and this tour to Sri Lanka is going to be very difficult indeed.
Chairman of selectors Clive Lloyd said that Simmons had brought unity and togetherness in the team set up. Now we have a situation where interim coach Baptiste who is also a selector, having to deal with the two players Bravo and Pollard whom he did not support in terms of getting back into the ODI team. This is going to be a difficult position for him and he may well find it very tough to get the players to gel together. This is West Indies cricket and one wishes him well in this new role for the Sri Lankan tour.
I have noticed that Baptiste has been named coach for the entire tour, which ends in mid-November. What is puzzling is that the WICB sent out a statement that Simmons will have to face an investigation. My information is that the investigation will be carried out by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the WICB, Michael Muirhead and a human resource committee. What if they don't continue his suspension, then do we replace Baptiste with Simmons midway during the tour, or is the WICB sending a message that he may not come back?
The accusations made by Simmons against three of the selectors (Courtney Browne, Courtney Walsh and Baptiste) is a serious one because what he is actually alleging is that the trio did not act independently. This could cause tremendous discomfort amongst the selection panel and in moving forward the matter of trust will take centre stage.
Simmons has come out as a big man and apologised for his comments but I am afraid it will take more than that to heal this wound. It would take time for the three selectors to come around, whether the WICB wants to give Simmons that time, is yet to be seen.
Then there is the other side of the coin, where if Simmons can substantiate his claims of "outside interference" then the matter could take a completely different turn. Simmons may still end up in front of a disciplinary committee but his breach may attract a not too harsh penalty. Whatever comes out of this now, is going to be of great interest because the WICB would be setting a precedent concerning public outbursts from officials and players.
If Simmons can prove "outside interference" then whoever is called would then have to answer and the situation could be the other way around.
The next few weeks is going to be very interesting in West Indies cricket and I am sure that the cricketing world is looking on eagerly for Caribbean entertainment.
Let's hope that good sense prevails in all quarters and West Indies cricket can learn from the mistakes and finally move in the direction we would all like to see.