Simmons to run Zim Academy

Former West Indies all-rounder Phil Simmons has landed a job as head coach of Zimbabwe’s CFX Cricket Academy, according to information reaching CaribbeanCricket.com.

Simmons, the hard-hitting opener who coached the Trinidad and Tobago side in the just-concluded Carib Beer series, will be in charge of Zimbabwe’s elite academy students for the upcoming 2003 season. Simmons will lead a three-man staff in the quest to develop Zimbabwean players to graduate to First Class cricket. The appointment of the Trinidadian right-hander follows a trend for former players to make a living in the coaching arena.

His former teammates Gus Logie, Roger Harper, Eldine Baptiste and Kenny Benjamin have all found a niche in coaching and the job as head of a Test nation’s academy is a significant addition to a coach’s resume. In 26 Tests for the West Indies between 1988 and 1997, Simmons scored 1002 runs at an average of 22.26 (one century; four fifties). He played a key role as a seam-bowling all-rounder in ODI cricket for the Caribbean side. Simmons appeared in 143 ODIs, scoring 3,675 runs (avg 28.93; five centuries, 18 fifties) and took 83 wickets at 34.65 per. He was Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1997.

Simmons played many years of County cricket at Leicestershire and has done stints for Durham, Border, Easterns and Wales Minor Counties. The CFX Cricket Academy in Zimbabwe was established by Dave Houghton who raised the initial capital with his sponsored walk from Bulawayo to Harare which raised over US $900,000. The academy is a non-profit organisation funded by the community at large. The facilities there are rated as among the best in the world.  It was set up with help from the ICC development plan and includes six all-weather nets with flood lights, three turf nets and three cricket cages in addition to a main playing wicket. The academy, which falls under the umbrella of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) operates on a budget in the range of US $22 million a year.