Darren Sammy - West Indies Captain

West Indies Captain

On 17 October 2010 Sammy was named captain of the West Indies Test team for its tour to Sri Lanka and until the end of the 2011 season, replacing Chris Gayle. At the time Sammy had played 8 Tests and 41 ODIs. The previous captain and vice, Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo respectively, had chosen not to sign central contracts with the West Indies Cricket Board and were replaced. Between January 2004 and the start of the tour to Sri Lanka in November, the West Indies had won just five of their previous 62 Tests and were expected to lose the three match series against a team with a good home record. In a series shortened by poor weather Sammy scored 10 runs and took two wickets at an average of 75.50, and while he said he wanted to improve his own performance Sammy stated that he was pleased with the 0–0 result of the series. In the 2–0 defeat to Sri Lanka in the subsequent ODI series, Sammy scored 28 runs and sent down 19 wicketless overs.

Pakistan toured the West Indies in April and May 2011 for a T20I, five ODIs, and two Tests. In the first match of the Test series West Indies secured their first victory since 2009, ending a 17-match run without a win. Sammy took seven wickets in the match, including five in Pakistan's second innings, and was named Man of the Match for his performance. West Indies lost the second match, drawing the series 1–1; Sammy was his team's second-highest wicket-taker, claiming ten at an average of 17.90. The following month Sammy was named T20I player of the year at the West Indies Players Association awards. When India toured in June and July the West Indies lost the Test series 1–0. Cricinfo recorded that Sammy led with passion and "bowled his heart out"; he finished with seven wickets from three matches at an average of 38.28. While playing, Sammy had to deal with distractions from hostile crowds and pundits who criticised his appointment as captain as some believed he could not hold down a place as a player alone.

Initially named as captain until the end of the 2011 season, Sammy was retained as captain across all formats for the tours of Bangladesh and India. In October Sammy's Grade B central contract was renewed; he was one of four players with a Grade B contract, the second highest category (Shivnarine Chanderpaul was the only player with a Grade A). Later that month, the West Indies toured Bangladesh. Sammy missed the first ODI through illness, but returned to captain the side in the remaining two. West Indies won the series 2–1 and Sammy took two wickets. The first Test was curtailed by rain and ended in a draw, and Sammy top-scored for his team. Having played 17 Tests, the innings of 58 runs from 43 balls was Sammy's first half-century in the format. West Indies won the second Test to take the series, and in the process Sammy dismissed Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan to claim his 50th Test wicket.

Following on from the Bangladesh series, the West Indies moved on to India in November for three Tests and five ODIs. West Indies lost the Test series 2–0 and Sammy finished as his team's highest wicket-taker with nine at an average of 34.77. In the ODI series, Sammy took a single wicket from 21.5 overs as West Indies succumbed to a 4–1 defeat. The West Indies faced Australia in a five-match ODI series in March 2012. Sammy's team won the second match by five wickets, ending a series of 13 defeats against Australia that extended back to 2006. The West Indies entered the final match with a 2–1 lead and a chance to register their first series win against Australia since 1995. In the event Australia won by 30 runs, but the margin of victory was smaller than it would have been had Sammy not scored 84 runs from 50 deliveries, his highest score in the format and an effort for which he was named Man of the Match. In the Test series that followed, Sammy managed just five wickets from three matches at an average just above forty. As a batsman he was more successful, and was one of three West Indies batsmen to score more than 150 runs in the series. With the West Indies on 13/2 chasing 215 to win from 61 overs on the final day of the second Test, Sammy promoted himself up the batting order to number three to accelerate the scoring rate. He managed 30 not out from 26 deliveries before rain intervened and the match ended in a draw. West Indies lost the third Test by 75 runs to lose the series 2–0, but during his team's chase of 370 to win on the final day Sammy scored his second Test half-century, 61 from 51 deliveries, bettering his previous highest Test score of 58.

The 2011/12 season saw Sammy improve as a batsman: in the series against India and Australia Sammy scored over 100 runs, which he had not done previously in a Test series. This trend continued when the West Indies toured England in May 2012. Sammy began the series with scores of 17 and 37 in the first Test at Lord's, during which he passed 3,000 runs in first-class cricket. In the following Test, in his 26th Test, Sammy registered his maiden Test century. It was just the seventh time a number eight batsman had scored a century for the West Indies. Sammy partnered Marlon Samuels in a 204-run stand, the second-highest for the West Indies' seventh wicket. The West Indies lost the Test and drew the next one to lose the series 2–0; Sammy finished with 201 runs from five innings and was his team's third highest run-scorer in the series while his six wickets cost 48.50 runs each. Commenting on Sammy's performance in the series, former West Indies captain Viv Richards said "All of a sudden there was this new-found confidence. You need to have a leader who can come out to the middle and make some sort of contribution. He has done enough and should not feel he has one foot in and one foot out as far as the leadership in concerned. He has done his bit to provide a winning environment."

New Zealand toured the West Indies between June and August 2012. The fixtures included two Tests, five ODIs, and two T20Is, and the West Indies won every match apart from the third ODI. Sammy guided the team to their first Test series victory since 2009 against a Test side other than minnows Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. He carried on his good form with the bat, scoring a half-century in the first Test.

Sammy led the West Indies in the 2012 World Twenty20 hosted by Sri Lanka. For the first time in a long time, the West Indies were considered realistic contenders for the title, a measure of how the team has matured under the auspices of Sammy. However, it was as an individual player that he came under scrutiny in the tournament. In the journey from group stages to the final, Sammy contributed 27 runs with the bat from four visits to the crease and overall bowling figures of 2/125, and drew a lot of criticism as many people felt he was keeping better players out of the side. But in the final, when it mattered most, Sammy scored 26 not out from 15 balls and took two key wickets (almost matching his batting and bowling tally for the rest of the tournament) to help his team overcome a slow start and defeat Sri Lanka.