MELBOURNE, Australia – Two-time Twenty20 World Cup-winning captain, Daren Sammy, believes West Indies can produce “something special” at the latest edition of the tournament starting later this month.
West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran.Writing in his column for the International Cricket Council, Sammy said the Caribbean side possessed talented combinations both in the batting and bowling departments, which could influence the outcome of games.
“I just spoke to [captain] Nicholas Pooran and he reckons the guys are shaping up well. I have a really good feeling about this squad because we have so much talent,” Sammy indicated.
“The batters are there as always. Kyle Mayers is such a talent and times the ball brilliantly and we know Nicholas is a match-winner.
“The good thing this time round is we have bowlers who can take wickets. We didn’t know where our wickets would come from last time but this time we do.
“You can rely on Akeal Hosein, he’s in the top 10 in the world and Odean Smith keeps improving, so it’s about fine-tuning and getting the right combinations.”
He added: “I would never write off the West Indies and I have a funny feeling that something special is going to happen in Australia.”
West Indies have struggled in their recent T20 fixtures, their most recent series loss seeing them trounced 2-0 by Australia last week. The defeat came on the heels of series losses to New Zealand and India last August.
They were also unconvincing in a 17-run win over United Arab Emirates in their opening official T20 World Cup warm-up before having their final game against the Netherlands rained off.
West Indies will now face a tricky qualifying series against Scotland, Zimbabwe and Ireland in order to reach the main draw of the T20 World Cup.
Sammy oversaw T20 World Cup triumphs in 2012 and 2016 – the latter success coming in dramatic circumstances in India when Carlos Brathwaite struck consecutive sixes from the first four balls of the final over to stun England in the final.
“I remember Chris (Gayle) saying ‘wow, 19 is a lot’ but I knew if the first ball went for six, the pressure goes back on the bowler,” Sammy said, recalling the final over of the 2016 final.
“I never thought we would see four sixes! That was divine intervention and we needed that after all we had been through.
“It’s the last memory I have in a West Indies shirt. That was my last game and it’s a good one to remember. We created history that day, it was amazing.
“The sad thing is that after 2016 that team was dismantled. They brought the guys back in 2021 but they were way past their best.
“We had a chance to mix the young players in with the experienced guys and we lost a massive opportunity to become stronger.”
