Darren Sammy: The guiding force of the West Indian Cricket Team
West Indian Captain Darren Julius Garvey Sammy, the right-hand batsman and right-arm fast medium bowler, is the guiding force behind the tremendously talented team. Born in St. Lucia on 20 December, 1983, he was appointed as captain of the West Indian team
in 2010. His leadership qualities and dynamic on-field performance, has given the team someone to rally behind during the ICC World Cup 2011.
Sammy was the part of West Indies under-19 World Cup which was played in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754, as he gave a considerable batting performance and was chosen for the Shell Cricket Academy at St George’s University of Grenada in 2002. He joined the Marylebone Cricket
Club Young Cricketers early in the 2003 season in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013.
He first became the part of West Indies’ One Day International squad in July 2004, as the match could not start due to heavy rain, but it was counted as the first tie of Sammy’s ODI career. In September 2004, he was called into the Champions Trophy squad
after Jamaican fast bowler, Jermaine Lawson was ruled out with a lower back stress fracture. At the age of 20, Sammy became the first International cricketer to come from St Lucia. Sammy actually played his debut at the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rose-c86842 bowl, and claimed 1/19 in six overs
and picked three catches, as the West Indies thrashed http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 by 138 runs.
The all-rounder has featured in 46 ODIs scoring 536 runs at an average of 23.30 including two fifties. His highest ODI score is an unbeaten 58 runs against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 at North Sound ground in May 2010. Sammy has picked 31 wickets in his 46 ODI’s at an
average of 46.38.
A great improvement was seen in the Sammy’s performance in the year 2010 as he claimed 15 wickets at an average of 28.46, which was much better than his career average. In 14 games during 2010, his batting average has been 39.25 at a strike rate of 121.70.
Sammy, after missing the first two Tests during the West Indies tour of England in 2007, made his debut in the third fixture at Manchester. The player picked the first wicket of his test career by dismissing England’s important batsman Alastair Cook and
in his second innings claimed four crucial wickets including the captain Michael Vaughan, Ramdin, Matt Prior and Liam Plunkett. Three wickets in the same over made him the leading player of the West Indian team. He continued his marvellous performance and
ended the innings with 7/66 and became the star of the Windies.
In the two-Test series against Bangladesh in 2009 he claimed 12 wickets. Maintaining his superb balling form in the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045 tour of the Caribbean in 2010, he became the first West Indian bowler to take a five wicket haul in Twenty20 Internationals. In the
ODI series, he claimed eight wickets at an average of 12.50 at an economy rate of 2.85. Sammy took over the captaincy of the Windies in Tests in October, 2010 by replacing Chris Gayle for its tour to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 until the end of the 2011 home series.
The World Cup will have a special importance for the skipper, as it will be first mega event of his career. He is eager to lead his team and take on the top cricketing teams from around the world. It will be interesting to see the exciting West Indian team
led by Sammy, as they make their way through the tournament. Sammy’s fiercely competitive spirit and superb cricketing skills will shine, as the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 go for the coveted trophy.
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