Kolkata: Can West Indies take over world cricket once again? They are the winners of World Cup Under-19, and the women and men’s Twenty20 World Cup. A banner soon after the win read: ‘Windies of change has begun’. The winds of change have undoubtedly begun and it is hoped that they will be a power in world cricket like they did under Clive Llyod nearly thirty years ago.
West Indies skipper Darren Sammy did not forget to hail his under-19 boys team and women’s team while talking about his team’s triumph.
“I started the tournament by saying that we are inspired by our under-19 boys in Bangladesh, and earlier this afternoon the way our women’s team played and won the cup was a big motivation for us to complete the triple. This means a lot for all the three teams and cricket in the region,” said Sammy, who only has hearsay knowledge about the glorious days of Caribbean cricket. Thirty-two-year-old Sammy was just a kid then.
“I’ve heard about the glory days when we dominated Test cricket for 17 years. But the success of this T20 team cannot be unnoticed. We bring smiles to the fans and that’s what we are going to continue. The next World Cup is in four years time. I probably have to get fitter if I have to continue, Chris (Gayle) might have to do more push-ups. That’s why this one means a lot more than the first one (in Sri Lanka) because we knew what was at stake.”
Sammy wants the world to notice what his team and players are capable of. “This is the depth in the team. No (Sunil) Narine, no (Kevin) Pollard, Lendl Simmons came in late, no Darren Bravo, and yet we won a cup. It shows that we are really good in this format.”
Sammy did not want to talk about his team before the victory. “The main focus was to play this tournament and play to win and then talk after. Now we’ve won, and we can talk.”
Talking about Test cricket, Sammy said: “T20 and Test cricket are totally different formats. We are very good in T20 cricket, the fact is that we have not been able to play a brand of Test cricket that allows us to win. If you look at our side, we have a young captain in Jason Holder, who I think is improving all the time. We have some good youngsters. With a structured development, I see the Bravos, the Blackwoods, the Brathwaites, the Bishoos and all the guys making an impact. They could take inspiration from the way we play T20s and just be more dedicated to Test cricket. And hopefully this win can inspire our Test cricketers to be better.”
