NewsSammy: 'Feels like 2016 when no one gave us a chance'
The eve of any global event tends to invite bold talk; Daren Sammy prefers the word “execution”. Meeting the press at Eden Gardens – scene of his 2016 triumph – the West Indies head coach kept circling back to that theme while outlining his side’s prospects before their T20 World Cup opener against Scotland.
“We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t believe we could win,” Sammy said, calmly but firmly. “And I know it feels like the same scenario ten years ago, where nobody gave us a chance.”
Facts first. West Indies remain one of only three nations to win this competition twice. Recent history, though, hardly flatters them: early exits in the last two editions and a ranking that hovers outside the top bracket. Sammy understands the tension between pedigree and present-day results, and he wants actions – not nostalgia – to bridge the gap.
“I’m looking at the guys and the calibre of talent that we have in that dressing-room,” he continued. “If we go out – and my favourite word – execute with both ball and bat and also in the field, we will win it.”
Selection calls have already been questioned back home. Johnson Charles is back as wicketkeeper-batter, while Shimron Hetmyer has been promoted to No.3. Sammy defended both moves in typically matter-of-fact fashion.
“Over the last two years, we’ve given guys the opportunity to play that second wicketkeeper to Shai Hope. And to be fair, no one has really grabbed the opportunity,” he noted. “Something happens to Shai, he’s [Charles] the direct replacement at the top of the order and holds the gloves. I know, probably somewhere, someone is beating me on my back for Johnson Charles. But I’ve never been one to really worry about what the public says.”
On Hetmyer, Sammy was equally pointed. “Hetmyer has been a massive part for us in that South Africa series. It was a beautiful conversation to see his team-mates challenging him take that No. 3 spot. Over the last 3-4 years, he’s been finishing the innings, so kudos to him. The responsibility he’s batted with over the last three games, if he continues like that, he makes our batting stronger. He plays like that, he puts his hands up to be the man of the tournament.”
After the facts came the wider lens. West Indies’ decline in T20 cricket coincided with player drain, limited facilities and fragile domestic systems. Sammy did not hide from any of it, yet neither did he wallow.
“We are one of three teams who’ve won the title twice,” he reminded. “There was a period between probably 2009 to 2016 where we really invented the game. But cycles come. Especially with us, the challenges that we face in keeping players, developing players, facilities, systems. We face a whole lot of challenges.”
His long-term vision is straightforward: success “because of, not in spite of” those systems. That echoes the dominant era of Sir Vivian Richards and company, a comparison Sammy raises to inspire rather than indulge.
“I dream for an era where we say we did this because of and not in spite of,” he repeated. “You can’t talk about cricket and not talk about the West Indies. Our cricketers are known better than our prime ministers.”
Sammy’s team are not favourites; few even place them among the likelier semi-finalists. Yet the head coach insists the only opinion that matters is the one in his dressing-room. The last time West Indies arrived in India with little external faith, they left with the trophy. Ten years on, Sammy is again selling belief – not hype, merely belief – and insisting it must be backed by that one word: execution.
