Kolkata: West Indies became the only nation to lift the ICC Twenty20 World Cup twice after they beat England at the Eden Gardens on Sunday. It was the second time Darren Sammy, as captain, has done it.
From Dubai, where the West Indies assembled for a training session before the World Cup, till Kolkata, it was a roller-coaster journey for them. All along the way their team was snubbed, players disrespected and even written off. Here are the five factors that united the team to emerge champions...
Six steps to glory
Before the team left the West Indies for the World Cup, Sammy had told his players that it would be a six-step-goal tournament. His players played hard to reach that goal. “We started our journey with this six-step goal. Carlos Brathwaite...his debut World Cup... what a player he has shown he can be. Marlon Samuels, again his 85 in the final under tough circumstances, speaks volumes. Bravo, Russell, and all the guys chipped in. For me as a leader it was just a joy to captain these guys out there. Our team is full of stars and for me as a leader it is just about managing all the egos in the dressing room and making the right decisions for the team. People might say I didn’t take part in the tournament. but for me, my job is to do what’s necessary for the team - to make the right decisions on the field, and to take inputs from senior players. Yes it was a tremendous tournament and we’re going to celebrate the win,” said an ecstatic Sammy.
Snub from West Indies cricket board
The Windies arrived for this tournament after a huge tussle with their cricket board. Sammy mentioned that when they were leaving Dubai for India, that they did not even have their team outfits sorted out. “We had trouble getting our team uniform. So the only way we could make a statement was by winning the tournament. When you see those 15 men out there playing with passion, determination and hunger for success and victories, it all stems from what has been boiling inside. Now it’s over, we can talk about it. This victory is solely dedicated to the Caribbean people, our fans all over the world,” noted Sammy while going on to thank the heads of Caricom (an organization of 15 Caribbean nations and dependencies).” He said he had also received an email and call from Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell of Grenada, but was disappointed that he hadn’t yet heard from their own cricket board. David Cameron, the West Indies Cricket Board president, was present at the Eden Gardens.
A journalist’s taunt
Mark Nicholas (left), a columnist, had remarked that the West Indies players have ‘no brains’. This statement, Sammy feels, united the team strongly. “People were wondering whether we would play this tournament. We had a lot of issues and we felt disrespected by our board. Mark Nicholas described us as a team with ‘no brains.’ But all of this just before the tournament only brought this team together. I want to really thank these 15 men who fought all this adversity to come out and play this type of cricket in front of such passionate fans.”
Warne provokes Samuels
Marlon Samuels wanted to prove to Shane Warne who had been criticising him a lot. Samuels, after receiving the man of the match award, even remarked: “Warne has been talking continuously and all I have to say without talking is, ‘this is for Shane Warne’ (showing the Man of the Match award to the camera). I answer with my bat and don’t answer with the mic.” Later in the press conference, Samuels said: “Shane Warne has a problem with me, I don’t know what. I’ve never disrespected him, but it seems as if he has a lot inside him that needs to come out. I don’t appreciate the way he continues to talk about me, and the things he keeps doing. I don’t know, maybe it is because my face is real and his face is not.”
Final over and Sammy reaction
It was the final over that won the cup for West Indies. Sammy describes that last over in his own words: “Nineteen runs, six balls, all of us in the dugout were like- three hits that’s all we need. First one over square leg, six. YES! Come on Carlos. Second one, where it did go… deep mid-wicket or long on, I don’t know. YES! Come on Carlos!, we said. One more hit away and you know...the third ball- six again! Ramdin thought we won. He was halfway on the field. Jerome Taylor sat in the dugout and said “we’ll win with two balls to spare” and he was spot on. It was sheer joy. We needed this...to come out here and win this tournament. It was just amazing.”
