WINDIES EMERGE WITH ENHANCED IMAGE FROM ODI SERIES

“I backed myself to win the match. Even at 7 wickets down defeat never entered my thoughts.” That was West Indies captain Darren Sammy after he was named Man of the Match in the fifth and final one-day international against Australia in St. Lucia on Sunday. The West Indies lost the match but shared the series 2-2 with the world’s number one team.

It was a series the West Indies should have won but wasted a glorious opportunity to win the third match and the series in St. Vincent when with the scores tied and the West Indies needing one run to win with three balls remaining, threw the match away when Darren Sammy was run out with two balls still to be bowled. That being said, the West Indies did not lose and gained 86 points for the tied series which puts them within a hair’s breadth of overtaking New Zealand for number 7 in the ICC rankings.

What is more important is the fact that the West Indies – even though it has only been for a few matches – has shown that maybe the team is getting better, if only marginally. Except for the first one day international, the West Indies were competitive in all the matches and even though they lost the final match, showed good fight as was demonstrated by Sammy’s statement. The captain has had to fight from the day he assumed the role of captain and has been under constant criticism from the throng that have been convinced that he is not captaincy material. At the outset that might have been true, but over the past year Sammy led the West Indies bowling attack as one of the top wicket takers, and in this just concluded series, had a good run with the bat. Scores of 35, 10, 31 not out and 84, the second highest score by any player during the series, saw Sammy lead lower order recoveries that have demonstrated rarely seen resolve. Along with Andre Russell, and Kieron Pollard, who scored the only century during the five-match series; Sammny completes a lower-order threesome that could make the West Indies very dangerous in the near future if the top order decides to finally come to the table.

Players like Darren Bravo and Marlon Samuels have been disappointing and need to be more consistent laying a strong foundation for the team to build on. Adrian Barath, while performing well with a pair of 40′s after being selected to replace the over-rated Kieran Powell, needs to bat through the innings and allow the team to bat around him. He has the potential, he must now start to realize it.

People will argue that this Australian team is not the strongest but is the number one team in the world. Michael Clarke, for example, was unable to make this trip because of injury. His absence was very glaring in the middle order who were unable to keep the West Indies bowling at bay for long. However, the same can be said about the West Indies. Lendl Simmons, Chris Gayle, and Ravi Rampaul would have been significant additions to the team and given what we know now, could have seen the West Indies sweep the series.

We now wait to see the outcome of the T20 matches and the all-important Tests. The West Indies have started well, and have shown good fight but that has been over the period of a day. They will have to be willing for show that fight for five days once the real series begins in a little while but it is good that we have been seeing encouraging signs so far. It is even better that that fight is seen as coming from the front, from the much-maligned team leader.

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7 Responses to “WINDIES EMERGE WITH ENHANCED IMAGE FROM ODI SERIES”

Messengjah says:

March 29, 2012 at 8:36 pm

Sammy should back himself when the pressure is on in the early part of the innings, and not in the later stages when all is but lost and he comes in swinging and hoping to hit more than he miss. He is by far one of the weakest captains the Windies have ever had, and is essentially a puppet of the WICB. He got the position as a gift from his fellow St. Lucians on the WICB namely Hunte and Hilaire. He has no leadership skills, is clueless about field settings, and lacks basic cricketing intelligence, as evidenced by the stupid runout in the fourth ODI, when only 1 run was needed from 3 balls to win the game and the series. He showed that he is not his own man when he refused to play for the Windwards against Jamaica in the current regional 4-day competition, only because he was told not to by WICB (read Hilaire) since Gayle was in the JA. team. The excuse that he was resting up for the Australians, is as feeble as they come, as he quickly suited up for the very next Windwards game.
K. Grant says:

March 30, 2012 at 5:32 am

Regardless of your kind words, Sammy is not captaincy material. In fact, he couldn’t make the team if he had to compete for a place. The selection of the team still leaves a lot to be desired. When is the WICB going to stop rewarding mediocrity?
Denis Wilson says:

April 1, 2012 at 12:35 am

I agree,
Sammy is one of the weakest captains the Windies have ever had, and is essentially a puppet of the WICB. He got the position as a gift from his fellow St. Lucians on the WICB namely Hunte and Hilaire. He has no leadership skills, is clueless about field settings, and lacks basic cricketing intelligence, as evidenced by the stupid runout in the fourth ODI, when only 1 run was needed from 3 balls to win the game and the series. He showed that he is not his own man when he refused to play for the Windwards against Jamaica in the current regional 4-day competition, only because he was told not to by WICB (read Hilaire) since Gayle was in the JA. team. The excuse that he was resting up for the Australians, is as feeble as they come, as he quickly suited up for the very next Windwards game.
vernon says:

April 3, 2012 at 6:10 pm

The WICB should be picked by a vote involving all the players surrounding west indies cricket,so when they mess up like they are doing now the players will only have themselves to blame for giving them the power,it should be the players who have the power because i am almost certain we can play a match without a board but try doing that without a team. Huh Huh Huh
zwain says:

April 6, 2012 at 7:23 am

Sammy is the only player on the team whose position is not based on merit. When you give Sammy the only player with a contract for 2years as captain. He does not have to be guarded and be selective in his shot selection when playing he can go out and play heave-o. Now having done heave-o infront of his home crowd, people seem to think his selection was justified.
Just like Brett Lee it will be another cold day in hell when he makes double figures, but at least Brett is a good bowler
Reginald Crutchley says:

April 29, 2012 at 2:13 pm

GOOD lEADERS FIGHT MEDIOCRITY WITH VENGEANCE.
maxx says:

May 8, 2012 at 11:00 pm

I am glad i am not the only one who believes that late innings heroic was a total waste. And the run out speaks for itself. every captain leads from the front, except ours, why is that?