SAMMY SO ANGRY OVER ‘OFFENSIVE’ NICKNAME
SNOOKER TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP
The 25-man squad disembarked from their charter flight at Manchester Airport yesterday wearing masks.
Led by skipper Jason Holder, they were transferred to Old Trafford where they will stay for the next three weeks as they quarantine themselves and prepare for the first Test at the Ageas Bowl on July 8.
All players and support staff were given a clean bill of health after being tested for coronavirus before leaving the Caribbean and were tested again in Manchester, with the results expected tomorrow.
Assuming all results are negative, they can start training at the ground that will also host the second and third Test of a series to be played behind closed doors.
Giles (below), director of England men’s cricket, said: “Great credit to them. We owe them a debt of gratitude in the way they’ve supported us through this process. We’ve been in regular dialogue and it would have been an easy decision not to come, so thank you to them and we look forward to getting some cricket on the road.
“A training base has been set up for West Indies in Manchester with on-site accommodation where we can create a secure bubble around them. Both sides will undergo thorough testing. Our number one priority through this is keeping our people safe, players, management and everyone working at these grounds.
“But getting cricket on is really important to the game in keeping the lights on.”
The huge effort made by the West Indies in the ECB’s financial hour of need by being the first international team to travel to play since the pandemic started cannot be underestimated. It allows the broadcast cash the game depends on from Sky and the BBC to keep flowing.
Their arrival coincided with the tearing down of a slave owner’s statue in Bristol amid Black Lives Matter protests and a reminder of the Windrush scandal with the BBC drama Sitting in Limbo.
A line was supposed to be drawn under the scandal by a compensation scheme that acknowledged “We owe you”, but reparations have been painfully slow in arriving. The ECB must not follow that example in showing its gratitude.
FORMER West Indies captain Darren Sammy has demanded an explanation from old team-mates at Sunrisers Hyderabad, who called him by a nickname with possible racist connotations.
Sammy thought his moniker at the Indian Premier League franchise – ‘kalu’ – was a term of endearment until he listened to a show with comedian Hasan Minhaj.
Now he knows the true meaning, Sammy wants unnamed former Sunrisers teammates in 2013-14 to come forward and tell him whether their nickname for him was derogatory “in any way, shape or form”.
On Instagram, Sammy (above) said: “I was angry after listening to Minhaj describing a (Hindi) word they use to describe black people, which he was saying is not in a good way and it was degrading.
“When I played for Sunrisers, I was being called the exact same word he described. All those who used to call me that, reach out to me, let’s have a conversation. Because, if it was in any way, shape or form what Minhaj said, I’m very disappointed.”