Phil Simmons? passion for cricket nearly cost him his life.

On a 1988 tour of England with the West Indies, the towering Trinidadian all-rounder was struck on the head by a David Lawrence delivery in fading light and required emergency brain surgery after his heart stopped beating.

Fortunately, Simmons made a full recovery, went on to represent the Windies in 26 Tests and 143 One-Day Internationals (ODI) and is still playing to this day.

The 1997 Wisden Cricketer of the Year is currently on the Island for the 20-20 World Classic, meeting up with old friends such as Bermuda coach and fellow Trinidadian Gus Logie, whom he agreed had done a great job with the Island?s national team.

Bermuda qualified for the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies last July at the ICC Trophy in Ireland and then won the ICC Intercontinental Cup Americas Group in Toronto last August.

?I?m glad for Gus and from what I have been hearing he has been doing very well and everything has been going well for him and the players are happy, which is what you want from a coach,? Simmons told .

Bermuda defeated England by five runs at the National Sports Centre on Wednesday night to advance to tomorrow?s Classic final, while Simmons? West Indies advanced to the Plate Final with a seven-wicket victory over India.

During the national cricket team?s recent training exercise in Trinidad, Bermuda?s players were able to forge ties with their Caribbean neighbours ? a bond Simmons believes will be of great benefit when the World Cup rolls around next March.

Bermuda will play all of their Group B matches in Trinidad.

?It?s great for a small cricketing nation to make the World Cup,? Simmons said. ?And even better for them that the World Cup is going to be held in the Caribbean because they are going to have a lot of support down there.?

Simmons himself enjoyed a three-year coaching stint in Zimbabwe that came to a controversial end last year.

The 46-year-old former Durham and Leicestershire all-rounder has since returned to England where he hopes to continue his coaching career in the near future.

?I?m doing more coaching than anything else and really enjoying it and therefore happy to continue doing it,? Simmons added.

Simmons last visited Bermuda in the 1990s as guest player for the former Bermuda Cricket Testimonial Match that was held annually to honour local cricketers before it fell by the wayside in 2001.

?A lot of things here have obviously changed, but it is still a very lovely place.?

Simmons said it was overwhelming to see his native Trinidad excelling in both cricket and football.

Earlier this year Trinidad and Tobago ? the Soca Warriors ? became the second Caribbean Island behind Jamaica to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, while only this month skipper Daren Ganga led his team to victory over Barbados in the Carib Challenge final at Guaracara Park, Trinidad to make a clean sweep of regional titles.

?I haven?t been home much over the last three years, but it?s really good to see Trinidad hold all three titles at the same time and I am very proud of them,? Simmons said.

?I thought a lot of the newer players came into the team and did very well, and I?m also happy for the captain (Ganga). But I hope this is just not a one-off thing because 21 years ago we won it and it was just a one-off. So I hope we can remain in that elite bracket of West Indies cricket in years to come.

?It?s great to see and when you look back in history, the teams that were on top are the teams that usually have the most picks in the West Indies? team. It shows as a team that if you are winning, individual players will be recognised, and it is very good to see.?

As for the Soca Warriors, Simmons said: ?This means a lot for Trinidad and Tobago football. When Jamaica went there the whole country was transformed and now the same thing seems to be happening with Trinidad and Tobago.

?I hope they will go there (Germany) and do well and enjoy themselves and I still feel that we can do well. But more importantly I hope things are put in place so that we can continue being a part of the World Cup. To me that is more important than just going to the World Cup Finals for one time like Jamaica did.

?I am very happy for them (Trinidad) especially for Dwight (Yorke) and Shaka Hislop because the World Cup is the one thing that was missing on their football CVs. They have done most things else and it is great to finally see them get there.?

Simmons plans to make the trip to Germany to support his beloved homeland.

?I am going to be there for sometime, and I must see the England game,? he said.

Trinidadian Hislop is the current goalkeeper of English Premier side West Ham who will meet giants Liverpool in next month?s FA Cup final in Cardiff.

Yorke won a UEFA Champions Cup with Manchester United in 1999.

Simmons, a staunch Tottenham Hotspur fan, is backing the Hammers in next month?s FA Cup, though as a resident of London has no liking for UEFA Champions Cup final-bound neighbours Arsenal.

?I don?t like Arsenal because I am a Spurs fan,? he said. ?And I want West Ham to win (FA Cup) because Shaka is there.?