Related items

• No place like home: Simmons anticipates return to T&T as part of Papua New Guinea's staff for T20 World Cup

  Former West Indies head coach Phil Simmons says he is looking forward to being back in his homeland of Trinidad and Tobago while assisting Papua New Guinea through their ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup campaign in which they will rub shoulders with West Indies.

  Simmons, 61, joins Oceania side as a specialist coach, and he will provide Papua New Guinea's head coach Tatenda Taibu with some added experience and knowledge of playing in Caribbean conditions during the June 1-29 showpiece, which will also see games being played in United States.

  “My role here is as a consultant coach and how I put across my experience, not just playing in World Cups, but playing in the Caribbean and the things that we should be looking at to make sure we do it right in the Caribbean and especially the venues that we play at,” Simmons shared.

  Having built a strong reputation working with international sides such as Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Afghanistan, Simmons, who has played the sport for 14 years and coached for a further 18 years, was pressed for time to spend in the Caribbean and, as such, welcomed the opportunity to spend some time in the twin island republic.

  “It’s been a long time in the game. It’s always brilliant to come home, always brilliant to come back to any part of the West Indies you know how beautiful it is here. I’m looking forward to getting home, which is Trinidad. Having people come here, me getting back here, it’s always a great thing, it’s always something to look forward to," he declared.

  Simmons, who recently joined the Papua New Guinea squad in their pre-World Cup training camp in St Kitts, expressed pleasure with what he has seen so far.

  “Their energy is unbelievable. Their warm-ups alone, got me tired. The guys look like they have settled in really well. In training, we started to get out in the middle of their game, so they started on some of the things they have to do here in the Caribbean, and it’s nice to see the energy that’s among this squad," Simmons said.

  “I’ve known the head coach [Taibu] for a long time, and he’s always been energetic. There is always a lot of energy, but the players seem to be pushing him where that is concerned, and so I like that atmosphere in the team, I like the liveliness in the team," he added.

  Papua New Guinea will contest Group C alongside West Indies, Afghanistan, New Zealand, and Uganada. They will open against the Caribbean side on June 2, at the National Cricket Stadium in Guyana.

• Southgate: Henderson will be a miss to the England squad

  Gareth Southgate says Jordan Henderson will "be a miss" after omitting the midfielder from his preliminary 33-man England squad for Euro 2024.

  Henderson has 81 senior caps for England but saw his place fiercely debated after joining Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq last year from Liverpool.

  The 33-year-old was booed by some England fans during a friendly win over Australia last October, having suggested his presence in Saudi Arabia could be a "positive" thing for LGBTQ+ rights in the country in a widely criticised interview with The Athletic.

  In January, he secured a move to Ajax but has only made nine Eredivisie appearances as the former Dutch champions finished fifth.

  Asked about Henderson’s absence, Southgate said: "[Jordan Henderson] will be a miss. He's an exceptional individual and a fantastic human being. He's been in that leadership role for a long time.

  "We've got young players with a lot of caps. There's no reason why young players can't lead.

  "The 33 isn’t quite a fair definition because we’re taking a longer squad with some younger players to look at. Hendo has given himself every chance.

  "From the last camp, he missed five weeks through injury, and he hasn’t been able to get to that tempo since then. It’s a big call to make, the three players from last time, he, Ben [White] and Marcus [Rashford] all had excellent professionalism."

  Marcus Rashford is another one of the names overlooked after a poor season for Manchester United.

  He scored just seven goals in 33 Premier League games this campaign after netting 30 in all competitions for the Red Devils in 2022-23.

  "These are of course difficult calls," Southgate added when asked about Rashford.

  "You are talking about players that are very important players. With Marcus, in that area of the pitch, I feel that other players have had better seasons, it’s as simple as that."

• Bravo joins Afghanistan as bowling consultant for T20 World Cup

  The Afghanistan Cricket Board has appointed former West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo as their bowling consultant for the 2024 T20 World Cup, to be held in the Caribbean and the USA from June 1-29.

  Afghanistan have already arrived in St Kitts and Nevis and are expected to begin a ten-day preparatory camp, during which Bravo will join the team.

  Bravo, part of the two-time T20 World Cup-winning West Indies side, retired from international cricket after the 2021 T20 World Cup but continues to play in T20 leagues around the world.

  Earlier this year, he featured for eventual champions MI Emirates in the IL T20. He is currently the leading wicket-taker in T20 cricket with 625 wickets in 573 games.

  Bravo is also the bowling coach of five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings, a position he took over after retiring from the IPL in December 2022.

  Afghanistan play their first warm-up game against Oman on May 29 followed by the second one on May 31 against Scotland.

  At the World Cup, Afghanistan are placed in Group C alongside West Indies, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Uganda. They start their campaign against Uganda on June 5 in Providence.