The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Sammy hails Samuels as Windies win world final
Marlon’s belligerent 78 from 56 balls turns the big match
Darren Sammy’s West Indies spoiled Sri Lanka’s party at thePremadasa Stadium last night but were still the toast of Colombo for their countless followers in the Caribbean and beyond.
The Windies’ 36-run win looked a highly unlikely outcome for much of the ICC World Twenty20 final but, in the end, Marlon Samuels’s belligerent 78 from 56 balls turned the match.
Samuels saw a clutch of his fellow top-order ballstrikers fail to register on a slow but fair pitch. He did not panic, however, and pushed his team up to 137 for six - a total which, contrary to expectation, proved far too many for Sri Lanka. It was a turn of events which deflated the vast majority in a partisan 35,000 sellout crowd.
But it may conversely breathe new life into West Indies cricket for years to come after a generation of mediocrity since the heydays of the 1970s and 80s.
While Sammy’s opposite number Mahela Jayawardene had to come to terms with a fourth successive defeat in a world final for Sri Lanka – he also confirmed his resignation as Twenty20 captain afterwards – the Windies were revelling in their overdue success.
“We can definitely cherish this moment and we canrelive it everyday of our lives,” said Sammy.
“This is the bestmoment formeinany cricket. This is for the Caribbean people, the West Indies fans all over the world. They’ve been craving success. It’s party time now from Jamaica down to Guyana - and we know how to party so they’ll need a lot of bartenders.”
Even Sammy must have had his doubts when the Windies crawled to 14 for two in the six-over powerplay, after choosing to bat first.
But he said: “God works in mysterious ways – He
WEST INDIES J Charles c Kulasekara b Mathews 0 C Gayle lbw b B Mendis ............... 3 M Samuels c B Mendis b M Perera. 78 D Bravo lbw b B Mendis............... 19 K Pollard c M Perera b B Mendis.. 2 A Russell lbw b B Mendis............. 0 D Sammy not out ......................... 26 D Ramdin not out......................... 4 Extras ........................................... 5 Total (6 wkts, 20 overs)............... 137 Wicket fall: 1-0 2-14 3-73 4-87 5-87
6-108. Bowling: Mathews 4- 1 - 1 1 - 1 ; Kulasekara 3- 0- 22- 0; Malinga 4-0-54-0; BAWMendis 4-0-12-4; M K P A D Perera 3-0-16-1; B M A J Mendis 2-0-20-0.
SRI LANKA D Jayawardene c Sammy b Narine. 33 T Dilshan b Rampaul.................... 0 K Sangakkara c Pollard b Badree 22 A Mathews b Sammy ................... 1 B Mendis run out.......................... 3 N Perera run out........................... 3 H Thirimanne c Charles b Sammy 4 K Kulasekara c Badree b Narine .. 26 S Malinga c Bravo b Narine.......... 5 B Mendis c Bravo b Samuels........ 1 M Perera not out .......................... 0 Extras ........................................... 3 Total (18.4 overs)......................... 101 Wicket fall: 1-6 2-48 3-51 4-60 5-61
6-64 7-69 8-96 9-100. Bowling: Badree 4-0-24-1; Rampaul 3-0-31-1; Samuels 4-0-15-1; Gayle 2- 0- 14- 0; Narine 3.4- 0- 9- 3; Sammy 2-0-6-2. performs wonders. It is the belief we have in the side. We expected them to give us a fight, and they did, but throughout the last year we’ve been showing that never-say-die attitude.
“We’ve not been winning games with it. It’s been taking us close, but in this tournament we’ve won games and that’s every man believing that whoever is out there can do the job. Today it was Marlon Samuels, and in the end every run counted and then the bowling and fielding display was just brilliant.
“I said we needed our Aplus game and we definitely did. The momentum we finished our batting with took us through to the bowling. Then Ravi (Rampaul) started off really well with his first ball, and we never looked back from there. We saved our best for last. This is the icing on the cake.”
This was a poignant moment for both Sammy and Samuels, the former a captain whose place in the side has so often been questioned and the latter capping a wonderful year in a previously chequered career.
Neitherwasever going to be weighed down by their critics, though.
“I play for the people. The commentators get paid to speak; I get paid to play cricket , ” added Sammy.
“Anyone can have an opinion about me – my shoulders are broad enough and I wear this crest on my heart.
“I don’t play for glory; I play for the Caribbean people.”
Jayawardene will remain available in all formats, but had decided before this tournament began that he would be giving up the Twenty20 captaincy.
He said of this defeat: “It hurts a lot. You want to do something special, personally and for the public as well.
“I’m very disappointed for the fanswecouldn’t give them what we wanted, but I’m very proud of the boys for the way they played the entire tournament.”