West Indies Coach Phil Simmons wants the best players back in the team

Chris Gayle and many other top West Indies cricketers have lit up Australia’s domestic Big Bash League tournament, even as the test team continues to struggle. The team currently on tour Down Under suffered a humiliating loss in the first Test match at Hobart. Frustrated coach Phil Simmons has called on the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to do more to get top players back into the test Team rather than playing in lucrative Twenty20 tournaments around the world.

Having lost the series-opener in 3 days, the Australian pundits have questioned how deserving the tourists are of the marquee tests of the home summer in Melbourne and Sydney. The Boxing Day Test and the traditional New Year’s Test have always been considered of great importance with fans queuing up in large numbers due, however the form of the visitors has put question marks on the interest the Tests may generate this year.

“I’m totally frustrated. It’s enjoyable to see Andre Russell bowling at 140 clicks and Bravo hitting three of four sixes and Chris in it. It is frustrating that we don’t have them yet playing in a test series but it’s something that’s been going on for a while,” Simmons told reporters at the MCG on Wednesday in the lead-up to the Test.

“It’s up to the administration to work out how we get to the stage of, let’s say New Zealand, because they have similar things and they are getting all their players to play. And it’s up to our administration and our bosses to find out how is the best way that we can get these guys on the pitch,” he added.

Explosive opener Gayle said last week he was still not ready for the demands of test cricket as he continues his recovery from a back injury. The Boxing Day Test, the second in the 3-match series, starts on Saturday.