From September 2015, the term of Phil Simmons as coach of West Indies became a test; a test for the West Indies Cricket Board.That month, in a television interview, Simmons took the unusual step of complaining about his employers in public. Simmons survived a firing over his claims of outside interference in the selection process for the one-day international team to tour Sri Lanka.But that issue of high controversy became the defining moment of a relationship that changed for the worse; a relationship that again asked questions about the WICBs ability to manage its affairs.More than many of the WICBs previous appointments, Simmons came in on a wave of optimism powered by much good feeling. Not the greatest of West Indies players himself, he was always respected for his courage and commitment to the cause. His success with Ireland also gave evidence of genuine coaching ability, so his fit for the West Indies cricket team, which he had always served with pride, seemed perfect.WICB CEO Michael Muirhead certainly seemed to think so back in March 2015 when he hired Simmons out of a field of seven, saying: Phil has a proven ability to develop players, while cultivating great team spirit and a winning culture. We have a number of young, talented players about whom he is excited to be coaching and we believe he is the right fit.Muirhead seemed especially impressed with one particular Simmons quality: His independence of character and his resolve to stand up for what he believes in were also strong qualities that convinced us that Phil was best suited to usher the West Indies team into a new era of success.Contrast that with what Muirhead, now the out-going CEO, is saying today: The coach has an opinion and the board collectively had another opinion, and that had happened on more than one occasion. It has been an ongoing thing, where I think Phil, in all that he has said and done, he has not aligned… the relationships were breaking down. I think he himself had ideas for a different strategic approach, notwithstanding one already having been approved and adopted by the board. I dont think he was aligned with that.Evidently, the independence of character and resolve to stand up for what he believes in were not so appealing to the majority of the boards directors, or the director of cricket, Richard Pybus, or the boards president, Dave Cameron.Muirhead did not outline the differences between the board and Simmons, but the public record does show that one of the big bones of contention was who has what degree of say in the selection of players.As a man whose job performance was largely dependent on success on the field, Simmons naturally wanted the best players available to get those results. But in that September interview before the Sri Lanka tour, frustration spoke for Simmons when he commented on the exclusion of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard.The disappointing fact is that you can lose 3-2 in a vote-off but there is too much interference from outside in the selection of the ODI squad and its disappointing for me to know that in any aspect of life… [people would use] their position to get people into a squad; or in this case, get people left out of a squad. It is wrong and I dont like it and that is my beef with the selection of the ODI team, Simmons said.Cameron and Pybus emerged as the principal figures the comments appeared to be directed at. Simmons would later describe a relationship that had deteriorated to pure email communication in the case of Pybus, and none at all with the board president since Simmons comments and the subsequent WICB investigation. Not even his delivering a World T20 title in India in April was enough to melt the icy waters.Tell-it-like-it is Simmo had struck again, speaking in public about the real state of affairs. Maybe this was another instance where he was not toeing the corporate line.In one of his last interviews, after the Test series with India ended in farcical fashion at the Queens Park Oval in August, Simmons also spoke about his frustration at cricket matters that were, in his opinion, not being addressed.Theres a lot of things that Ive asked for, and its not coming to fruition. Ive asked for coaches to meet twice, maybe three times a year, and discuss cricket. We need to make sure that whatever we are doing upstairs is going down to everybody. If we dont have the same objective, then we spin it up in muddles. I think thats lacking.Simmons has always been a team player, so the pattern of public outbursts of discontent that emerged over the last 12 months meant that for him, things behind the scenes had become unbearable. To use a Caribbean expression, it was a case of water more than flour. For Simmons, cricket was not winning. His public comments were, strictly speaking, inappropriate. And for his own peace of mind, he should probably have quit after making them. It was always going to be difficult going after that. But the principals in the WICB had an opportunity to heal the breach by demonstrating that fixing the cricket, not fixing the coach, was their chief concern.However, the track record of this administration, going back to the players abandonment of the tour of India in 2014, has not reflected a spirit of genuine reconciliation or intent in problem-solving.Those who have spoken critically of the board in some way - players and even media personalities - have become casualties.Therefore there is a portion of the West Indian public that has been left with the view expressed by the recent head of the CARICOM (Caribbean Community) sub-committee on cricket, the prime minister of Grenada, Dr Keith Mitchell.Commenting on Wednesday on Simmons firing, Mitchell said: The board has now become an extremely inflexible and autocratic unit in which power and control dominate. Cricket development and cricket performance appear to be low on the boards list of most important priorities.So Simmons - who took over a team that was near the foot of the ICC one-day rankings but still managed this year to beat higher-ranked South Africa twice and Australia once on their way to the final of the tri-series, and who triumphed at the World T20, finds that such successes in 18 months with a team at its lowest ebb were not good enough to keep him in the job.But it is the WICB, more than Simmons, that will have to deal with this failure. For once more it has missed the chance to establish stability in administration through skilful man-management.All that the Phil Simmons affair has proved, again, is that the WICB can wield the big stick. And nothing more. Running Shoes Canada Online . The 19-year-old Olsen played 34 games with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL this season. In that time, hes recorded 17 goals and 17 assists with 36 penalty minutes. 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The Adelaide Crows have dismissed reports theyre pursuing Brisbane captain Tom Rockliff as his manager says the star midfielder will remain at the Lions.The Crows reject reports theyre pitching to lure Rockliff to Adelaide as his manager Tom Petroro says the Lions skipper wont change clubs.I wouldnt have thought so, Petroro told SEN radio on Friday when asked whether Rockliff was moving.Rockliff is contracted by Brisbane for another 18 months and Petroro said talks over a contract extension would soon resume.We started those at the start of the year. We parked them until the end of footy season, he said.I assume well pick them up over the coming weeks.Asked if he had spoken to the Crows about Rockliff, Petroro said: No, not at this stage.The reports caught the Crows unaware on Friday with the club privately dismissing them as inaccurate.But Adelaide assistant coach David Teague believed the South Australian outfit waas becoming an attractive destination for any player.ddddddddddddI just heard that one, Teague said on Friday about Rockliff.That is probably not something that Im really in charge of or focused on heavily but I do understand players from other clubs may want to come to us at the moment.We are playing exciting football, we are playing a real team brand of football so if players enjoy playing amongst a team, I think Adelaide would be a destination they would be interested in.The good clubs probably dont spend big - people want to come to their organisation because of the culture they have built.Right now, Adelaide is in a good place, were a real team-first culture ... if you want to be part of that, you probably are going to come on those terms, youre not going to ask for a big pay cheque. 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