Zimbabwe taught me a lesson - Simmons

Phil Simmons hopes his new position as Ireland's coach will help erase the terrible experiences he had while coaching Zimbabwe. Simmons was officially in charge of Ireland from the beginning of March, but it was agreed that outgoing Irish coach Adrian Birrell would remain at the helm until after the World Cup.

Simmons, the former West Indian allrounder, is currently an assistant to Birrell in the Caribbean. "My role was to come and be part of the team and to get to know the people," Simmons said. "It's been easy because Adrian is happy with it. Basically, I'm an assistant. It hasn't been hard at all, it's been very easy actually." The agreement will last a little longer now that Ireland have qualified for the Super Eights.

Happy as he is, Simmons is taking his new challenge in his stride after his controversial assignment in Zimbabwe. "Off the field, it has taught me - don't trust many people," Simmons told the Trinidad Express. "It's a sad thing to say, but that's the thing it's taught me through and through. There's not many trustworthy people in the world anymore."

His contract with the Zimbabwe Cricket was terminated in August last year and he suddenly found himself having to fight a battle over deportation and compensation. "I can't get scarred," he said. "I am too blessed to get scarred. As coach of Zimbabwe, it taught me different things. It taught me a lesson about life in Zimbabwe which is totally different to life anywhere else I've been."