Former West Indies skipper Darren Sammy will be honored by Connecticut Cricket League. Photo by Ron Gaunt – BCCI – SPORTZPICS
By Sam Sooppersaud
The Connecticut Cricket League will honor former West Indies cricket captain, Darren Sammy, at a gala affair to be held on Friday, Oct. 27, 2017, at the Sportsmen’s Athletic Club, 2976 Main Street, Hartford, Connecticut 06120. Attendees are asked to come early for photo opportunity with the player. Formality will start about 8:00. P.M. Admission to the event is $10.00.
Darren is a St Lucian, the first from his island to play international cricket. He made his debut for the West Indies (WI) in 2004 against New Zealand, and his test debut in 2007 versus England. In this test he took 7 wickets for 66 runs, the best figures for a debutant since Alfred Valentine in the 50’s. He was appointed captain of the West Indies in 2010. He scored his first test century in 2012.
The St Lucian is the only skipper to have won two World T20 championships. In 2012 he skippered the WI to the championship against Sri Lanka. It was a low scoring match. I think West Indies scored 132 runs; but they were able to restrict the opponents below that score due to some excellent captaincy by Darren Sammy. He again won the T20 for his country in 2016 when Windies defeated England in the last over of the game; WI needed 19 runs in the last over. Carlos Braithwaite took matters in his hand by hitting four consecutive maximums.
Getting the Man of the Match award is a great achievement for a player. Darren has done this on numerous occasions. Test: 2011 vs Pakistan in the WI. Match figures of 7 for 45. (2/16 & 5/29). ODI: 2010 vs Zimbabwe; 4/26; 2012 vs Australia; 84 runs (50 balls, 6×4, 6×6); 2012 vs Bangladesh; 60 runs (62 balls, 5×4) & 3 for 23. 2013 vs India; 63 runs (45 balls, 4×4, 6×6) & 1 for 11. 2013 vs New Zealand: 43 runs (27 balls, 5×4, 3×6).
He no longer is considered for West Indies cricket duties. But, he is busy playing professional T20 cricket around the world: Big Bash in Australia, Indian Premier League in India, Pakistan Premier League where, in the last tournament, he captained the Peshawar Zalmi.
Darren Sammy, without any doubt, is one of the most likeable, if not the most likeable, captains that have been at the helm of a West Indies squad. So come on out and meet this great WI cricketer and personality.