Darren Sammy has his heart at right place but not everyone will agree with his stance on West Indies board
The West Indies captain is a very fine man.
He is a calm, smiling, intelligent leader.
He
remained relaxed, unruffled throughout the tournament, even retaining
his cheerful countenance when the eventual World T20 champions were
defeated by the rank outsiders, Afghanistan, in the group stage.
He could afford to. West Indies had already qualified for the
semi-finals and he wasn’t going to deny this keen, young cricketing
nation its own little piece of glory; its time in the spotlight. Sammy
was confident that his team had a far greater moment awaiting them — he
could foresee the bigger picture: brighter lights; sharper focus; posing
with the prize — eyes of the world upon them.
Privately, he must
have been annoyed by the slip; frustrated that his players had been
wrong-footed; perhaps too casual in taking this apparently easy step
towards the goal. Thankfully, it didn’t deflect them from their path —
and maybe the journey was all the more rewarding for the odd trip on the
way.
Sammy had brought his team to India with a single purpose:
to win. He knew his multi-talented, 15-man squad had all that was needed
to achieve a second ICC World Twenty20 title; and he expected each man
to do his part.
The world’s media understandably converged on
Chris Gayle in their pre-tournament coverage. Naturally, since he is the
Boss — of the World, and the Universe. It’s a given, therefore, that he
should be the centre of attention. But Sammy was keen to remind
everyone that the West Indies were not a one-man team. At different
stages of the competition, Marlon Samuels, Samuel Badree, Johnson
Charles, Lendl Simmons, Andre Russell, Andre Fletcher — and most
dramatically of all, Carlos Brathwaite — all stepped up to prove it.
It was one of several points Sammy’s men had to prove.
In
a tournament preview, Mark Nicholas categorised the Windies as ‘short
on brains’ — a flippant remark for which the writer and broadcaster has
unreservedly since apologised.
But most of all West Indies wanted to prove that they were winners — and prove their worth.heir own cricket board, the WICB, had devalued them ahead of the
tournament with a greatly reduced contract for playing in the
competition — so they nearly didn’t. The latest in a succession of
wrangles over their declining pay briefly threatened their
participation. Withdrawal would have been one way of making their point —
but it would have been to cut off their nose to spite their face.
Sammy’s
men are an aging bunch of experienced, well-travelled, match-winning
T20 specialists. To have denied themselves what was possibly a last
hurrah, and an opportunity to seal their legacy, would have been
self-defeating. There was also the recent example of the Caribbean
Under-19 cricketers: against all expectations, they won their age-group
World Cup, and brought joy and hope to their region.
Sammy and his colleagues rightly remembered that the fans come first, and put their own grievances to one side.
And
what pleasure they gave! People in the Caribbean Islands can bask in
the glory of a triple-triumph — Sammy’s men completing the hat-trick
after Stafanie Taylor’s ladies provided the second-leg, achieving a
notable first for Windies women’s cricket: winning their maiden World
T20 trophy.
The men, in their celebrations, stripped off their
shirts and danced half-naked in the moonlight. In his after-match
interview with Nasser Hussain, skipper Sammy also had plenty to get off
his chest. In victory, Darren Sammy, on behalf of his team, finally had
his say.
First, he scolded Mark Nicholas for his discourteous
comments; then proceeded to admonish the West Indies Cricket Board for
their disrespect.
It was his platform, his opinion, and he is entitled to it.
However, I disagree with him.
He
said the team, his players, had been disrespected by the WICB. The
nature of that disrespect is that the Board has slashed the player’s
earnings. They are redistributing the money into development programmes
and have professionalised the region’s first-class game. It is money
that is being taken to fund the likes of the Under 19s and other
emerging young cricketers. It is money being used to develop and
strengthen the women’s game.
Darren Sammy’s men fully earned their
glory; and their winner’s cheques. But with so little money to go round
in the Caribbean — the region being in a parlous, abject financial
state — is it wrong for what there is to be channelled into the
grassroots? The Board’s restructured approach was supported by the
region’s cricketers’ union, the West Indies Players Association — from
which most of the international players have now withdrawn.
Maybe
the disrespect came from the manner in which the message was conveyed?
Certainly, president Dave Cameron and his WICB colleagues could learn a
little more tact and diplomacy — and improve their communication skills.
Sammy suggested that the WICB had not been in contact to offer
congratulations to the victors. If true, that is poor management.
They
certainly have issued press releases acclaiming the men and the women’s
victories — and also reprimanded the skipper for his post-match
comments, promising an inquiry.
Sammy was delighted to hear from
the heads of Caricom: Prime Minister of Grenada, Keith Mitchell sent the
team an ‘inspiring email’. A month ago, in an address to the Grenadan
Cricket Association, he advocated a breakaway T20 league on the island,
rebelling against the existing structures of West Indies cricket.
Mitchell’s colleague, Trinidad & Tobago Prime Minister Dr Keith
Rowley, in a recent TV interview regretted that the BCCI had not called
in its claim of $42m, and thus bankrupted the West Indies Cricket Board.
Not everyone in the region shares Dr Rowley’s, or Dr Mitchell’s, or
Darren Sammy’s views on the current governance of West Indies cricket.
How
wise it was of Sammy to lay himself bare, only time will tell. I
suspect that this on-field high point for West Indies cricket will be
followed by some off-the-field lows.
The disputes will continue; and angry words will be exchanged.
Darren
Sammy is an honest, passionate and admirable man. Last night he was a
World Cup-winning captain; the leader of his team, and spokesman for his
players. He speaks for many.
I respect his views, but disagree with them. I don’t think he speaks for all.
