West Indies have a great future: Sammy

COLOMBO: An exultant West Indies captain Darren Sammy said winning the World Twenty20 title, the team's first major trophy in 33 years, has proved that the Caribbeans are gradually moving towards reclaiming their past glory.

"We're not trying just to compete any more, we believe we can win against good opposition. We showed signs of that in the last year or so, but we were not winning. Hopefully, this can be the start of something good for the West Indies team and the people," Sammy said after the Windies beat hosts Sri Lanka in the final on Sunday.

The West Indians, who have struggled at the international level for over two decades, were, for a change, among the teams favoured to do well in the tournament. And they did exactly that, dancing their way to the title.

Sammy, whose place in the team itself has been questioned several times, proved his worth in the crunch match with an important 26-run knock down the order, besides grabbing a couple of wickets.


"We will definitely cherish this moment. I will for sure. We're going to relive it every day of our lives. This is the best moment for me in any cricket. This here (the trophy) is for the Caribbean people," Sammy said.

"West Indies fans all over the world have been craving success. I know they're partying from Jamaica down to Guyana. And we know how to party. I think they'll need a lot of bartenders."

The all-rounder said despite the sometimes harsh criticism he came across about his worth in the side, he always believed in his abilities.

"The commentators get paid to speak. The media get paid to write stories. I get paid to play cricket," Sammy said.

"Critics will always be there. Someone might find something wrong I did today even though we won. That does not worry me. The most important thing is that the team did well," he added.

"And I always say I live my life one way. Christ came to this earth, did nothing wrong and yet was crucified. I'm nowhere close to that man. We have a strong belief in God. He works in mysterious ways. He performs wonders," Sammy said.

Another hero of the 36-run victory was Marlon Samuels who smashed a 56-ball 78 to lift the team to 137-6. The veteran was at a loss of words to describe his emotions.

"It is hard to explain what this victory means to me and my team. The West Indies are finally going well again, we have a great future," he said.

Sammy, meanwhile, said his team went about its job quietly and peaked at just the right time.

"Once we play the way we can, we'll always be a force to reckon with. We didn't brag about it but we believed we could go out there and take it one game at a time," Sammy said.

"I said 'hurdle by hurdle,' and today was the final one. The coach said we're climbing to the top of a mountain, and that's where the prize is. We've got to go and take it. Today, we did that."

An entertaining aspect of their wins has been the 'Gangnam' style celebration dance, which explosive batsman Chris Gayle introduced. A laughing Sammy said the entire team just follows Gayle's moves.