G Wattley: Simmons set for Pakistan (5 Sep 1997)

Friday, September 5, 1997

Simmons set for Pakistan

By GARTH WATTLEY

HE was caught by surprise when he got picked for the tour of Pakistan. And he was staggered when he got the news of his national award last week.

But now, Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies cricketer Phil Simmons is looking forward to another chance to play international, even Test cricket.

The 34-year-old T&T vice captain, with 59 regional first-class matches and 14 years of service under his belt, was awarded the Humming Bird silver medal when the national awards for this year's Independence celebrations were announced this week.

"When they phoned me and told me, I was kind of shocked... It's such a big honour to receive a medal from your country," T&T's all-time leading Shell Shield/Red Stripe runscorer (3,938) told the Express.

"I don't know how to describe it," Simmons said, "it's well appreciated. I feel very honoured to be a recipient of a Humming Bird Silver medal." However, Simmons was also quick to point out that, "even without that, because of the appreciation of the people, it (the effort on the field) was worthwhile. It's like a reward for working hard".

The sudden good news has come at a time when the T&T all rounder is beginning to ride the crest of another wave.

After a niggling hand injury forced him to miss three months of cricket including most of the regional season and all international cricket, Simmons was somewhat of a surprise selection for the West Indies tours of Sharjah and Pakistan.

Simmons's critics were not the only ones caught out of their creases. "It was a very pleasant surprise," he said, even while conceding, "you still think you are good enough to go on one of the two (senior or "A" team) tours. And you hope it would be the first tour."

Simmons will head to the Indian subcontinent with his confidence boosted by a useful stint in the recently concluded Jamaica County championships.

In the inaugural season of the competition that featured a host of West Indies stars, "Simmo" slammed back-to-back centuries for his club Middlesex, who also had in their WI ranks pacer Franklyn Rose, "A" team opener Leon Garrick and Guyanese leg-spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo. The tournament was hailed as a success by both players and administrators. And while Simmons was also impressed by both the standard of competition (the presence of the WI players he said made the others rise to the occasion) and the professionalism of the teams, he was not so keen on the format.

"Because there were so many talented players, two days was kind of hard. Few games finished (in a result). But with the quality players, three days should be minimum to get proper cricket."

The all rounder was much keener however on the very fact of his being able to play.

"I enjoyed the five weeks because I hadn't played for so long," Simmons said. But he added, "everything feels good. It's a matter of getting back to match fitness".

It is also a matter of finding a place in the first eleven. Simmons said he plans to take it one game at a time. "The start of the tour is four one-day games. You look forward to being selected for that and you take it from there. You don't know what can happen."

Another last shot at reviving a chequered Test career would also please him.

But Simmons is prepared to settle for less. "The priority for me is, for number one, to still enjoy the cricket. I'm just looking forward to going there and playing and hoping that the West Indies come out victorious." Before the Pakistan engagement however, Simmons will return home to prepare for T&T's Shell/Sandals one-day title defence in October.

Source :: The Trinidad Express (https://www.trinidad.net/express/)