Marlon Samuels left Sri Lanka last night having finally emerged from the shadows of a controversial career to revive West Indian cricket with a splendid all-round display.
Samuels smashed 78 off 56 balls to help the West Indies to a modest 137 for six and then took one for 15 from four steady overs of off-spin as the hosts were shot out for 101 in front of 35,000 stunned home fans.
“This is a moment to cherish and cherish forever, it means the world to us,” the 31-year-old Jamaican said after being named man of the match. Samuels has endured a turbulent 12-year career since his debut in 2000, having seen his bowling action questioned before being suspended for two years in 2008 for alleged links with bookmakers.
“The career has been up and down. There have been a lot of tough times. I dealt with them in simple ways and tried to let them pass. Being under pressure on a cricket field is nothing compared to what I’ve been through off the field. But as my mentor always said to me, everything that happened to me in life is because I am important. I’m not someone that will ever give up. I never say die.”
Samuels said the win would turn the tide for Caribbean cricket and win back fans who’d deserted the team in bad times over the last decade.
“This is a great achievement for past cricketers and for the present cricketers who’ve bonded together to form a strong unit. Around the world, people still love to watch West Indies cricket. The sky is now the limit for us.”
Sri Lanka not ruthless enough, says Jayawardene
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s outgoing Twenty20 captain Mahela Jayawardene admitted his team choked in the final, denying themselves the title.
“When we were put under pressure, we didn’t react well,” said Jayawardene. “As a team we gave everything we had,” he said. “We wanted to win a big tournament to give something to the fans who have been cheering us. We just didn’t execute a good game plan and we’re not ruthless enough. We need to sit together, have a chat on what went wrong and then move on.”
Jayawardene said it was hard to explain the defeats in four successive finals.
“In a couple of the finals, we did not start well and kept chasing the game, but in this one started really well. We did not have any momentum chasing the target. We needed a couple of partnerships. The West Indies handled the situations better than us. We have been playing some really good cricket but unfortunately we have not been able to cross that hurdle. As a player, as a cricketer and as an individual, it hurts a lot. But you just have to move on and see how well we can get over this and keep fighting again.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 9th, 2012.
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