I wasn’t selected consistently enough: Marlon Samuels – Cricket News Update
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Marlon-Nathaniel-Samuels-c74804 has blamed the national selectors for having failed to select him regularly in the early stages of his career, claiming the “system” did not allow him to develop his full potential.
“I will insist that I wasn't allowed to [live up to my potential],” Samuels said while speaking to the
Indian Express. “I have had some good runs with the bat in the past too. But the system back home didn't let me build on them. I wasn't selected consistently enough.
“They're trying to back me again since my return. That's what they should have done back in 2002,” he pointed out. “Nevertheless, it's never too late. I am a survivor. A fighter.”
Samuels made his debut for the national side in 2000, and despite displaying plenty of potential and promise, inconsistent performances, coupled with a tendency to attract controversy, saw him in and out of the national side for the most part of the early
2000’s.
Combined with his irregular appearances for the national side was a knack for attracting trouble – defiance of team curfew nearly saw him sent home from a tour of India in late 2002.
An erratic performance in the 2007 World Cup saw Samuels continuing down his indifferent career path, but things came to a standstill in 2008, when he was implicated for “receiving money, or benefit or other reward that could bring him or the game of cricket
into disrepute”, for having indulged in match-fixing during an earlier ODI series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750.
The developments saw Samuels banned from the game for 2 years, and although he has since made a stellar comeback in 2011 after serving the terms of the ban, the right-hander insists the incident is still fresh in his mind. Samuels claimed he still carried
“a lot of anger” with him, owing to the ban. “It helps to motivate me,” he added.
However, since his return, the right-hander has displayed superb form in all three formats of the game. Having put forth impressive performances in series against India, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 World
Twenty20 final in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 this year.
With the Windies battling it out with the hosts for the title, Samuels scored a fluent 78 to revive his team’s otherwise sagging innings, before claiming 1 for 15 – a performance which won him the Player of the Match award, and his team the cup.
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