What
connects Fidel Castro, Shah of Iran, Queen Elizabeth II, Joseph Tito, Dwight
Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, King Birendra, Aga Khan, Morarji Desai, Nelson
Mandela ?
.. .. this not so much
heralded Cricketer was Vice-captain in
an under-strength side that became Bangladesh's first away series victims in
Tests, and then was appointed captain after the contract dispute that led to
that losing, under-strength side taking the field wasn't resolved. Perhaps
their Board thought him to be a perfect ‘yes-man’! – this West Indian however
rose up and the Beausejour Cricket
Ground in St Lucia was renamed after him as __________ National Cricket
Stadium, following West Indies' dramatic World Twenty20 title win in India.
No prize for guessing ..
it is Darren Sammy. Darren Julius Garvey
Sammy was born in St Lucia in the year WI lost the WC for the first time,
having won it in the inaugural year 1975 and repeating it in 1979. He made his debut against England at
Manchester in 2007 and played his last test at Hamilton in Dec 2013. His ODI debut was earlier in 2004 and his
last match was a couple of years later at 2015. In between he was an IPL star
too and excelled in T20 format having lifted their team to win World title. He made his T20I debut in 2007 and played
till 2017.
The euphoria that swept
through the cricketing Caribbean following men's team's victory snatched from
the jaws of defeat in the World T20 final in Kolkata was spoilt by the heated, long-running debate over the
future of the West Indies board. The two were simultaneously linked at the
presentation formalities by captain Darren Sammy's impassioned denunciation of
the WICB as he received the trophy for the second time in three tournaments.
Dwayne Bravo's subsequent descriptions of the WICB as "the most
unprofessional board in the world" and of board president Dave Cameron as
"immature", "small-minded" and "arrogant" added
fuel to the fire.
Board VP Nanthan
termed Sammy's reproach "irrelevant, demeaning, insulting and
unfortunate". A few days later, perhaps mindful of Sammy's widespread
popularity, he claimed he wasn't really criticising him as they always had a
father-and-son relationship. As Cameron was making his unsolicited apology and
dispatching his tweet, the St Lucia government was preparing for the return of
their two nationals from the champion team, Sammy and opener Johnson Charles.
The culmination was the renaming of the Beausejour Stadium, venue for
international cricket, the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium. The size of
celebrating crowds left no doubt over Sammy's status in his native island.
So it mostly was
throughout the 11 territories, from Guyana in the south to Jamaica in the
north, whose common passion for over 100 years has been the game that unites
them and for which they have been universally recognised for excellence and the
exciting brand of their play. Some of the West Indies legends during the
glorious period between 1976 and 1995, Sir Viv Richards and Sir Andy Roberts
the most prominent, sided with Sammy.
Then came his
downfall. Darren Sammy announced his retirement from Test cricket
after losing the captaincy. His decision came just hours after the WICB
announced that wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin was replacing Sammy as captain of the
Test side for the upcoming three-Test series against New Zealand. Sammy was the
first player from St Lucia to represent the West Indies Test side, making his
debut as a 23-year-old in 2007 against England at Old Trafford. He took 7 for
66 in the second innings of a 60-run loss to the home side, the best bowling
figures at Old Trafford since Malcolm Marshall claimed 7 for 22 in 1988. After
having played only eight Tests, he was made captain of the Test side taking
over from Chris Gayle in Oct 2010 after Gayle turned down a WICB central
contract. Sammy fought off plenty of criticism throughout his reign during
which West Indies won eight, lost 12 and drew 10 of the Tests he captained.
His leaving Test cricket
was at a time when his Twenty20 career
was near its peak. After leading West Indies to the World T20 title in 2012, he
led them to the semifinals in 2014 on the back of some impressive finishing
displays, none more than against Australia when he scored 34 not out off 13
balls in a final-over six-wicket win… .. now he is in news.
The names that you read at
the start were some of the recipients of ‘Nishan-e-Pakistan’, the highest of
civil awards and decorations given by the Government of Pakistan for the
highest degree of service to the country and nation of Pakistan. The award was
established in 1957. It is stated that
the Nishan-e-Pakistan, is a highly
restricted and most prestigious award and is only conferred for the merit and
distinguished services to the country, international community, and foreign
relations.
Darren Sammy has played a
major role in the return of top-flight cricket to Pakistan, and the country has
decided to express its gratitude in style, by extending an honorary citizenship
to the former West Indies captain. Arif Alvi, the Pakistan president, has
signed off on the same, and Sammy will also receive the Nishan-e-Pakistan, the
country's top civilian award, on March 23 in Islamabad. The idea of the
honorary citizenship was initiated by Javed Afridi, the owner of Peshawar
Zalmi, the team Sammy has represented since the start of the PSL in 2016. The
PCB followed up on it with the federal government in light of Sammy's
"invaluable contribution to cricket in Pakistan".
St Lucian Sammy, 36, has
been Zalmi's premier marquee player from the beginning of the PSL. Ahead of the
second edition, Shahid Afridi, who led the team in the first season, stepped
down and handed the reins to Sammy, and he has led them since - they won the
title in 2017 and were the losing finalists in 2018 and 2019. More than that, though, it's Sammy's support
to the Pakistan cause that has endeared him to people in the country. He was
the first to agree to tour Pakistan when the PCB wanted to bring the PSL final
to the country. Then, when an ICC World XI was lined up tour Pakistan for three
T20Is in September 2017, Sammy - a part of that squad - spoke to the other
tourists as part of a security briefing.
Darren Sammy perhaps has
been honoured more by Pakistan than by his own country.
Regards – S. Sampathkumar
22nd Feb 2020.
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