October 23rd 2010
Eye On Sammy

Sammy earned his first West Indies cap in odd circumstances. The NatWest Triangular one-day international Series was being played in England in summer 2004, with New Zealand the third team involved. Unfortunately, due to heavy rain, the West Indies’ match against New Zealand at the Rose Bowl was abandoned without a ball being bowled. But the captains had already completed the toss, and he fixture counts in ICC records as Sammy's first match.
In September, Sammy was recalled to the senior team, 22-year-old Jamaican fast bowler Jermaine Lawson having dropped out of the ICC Champions Trophy squad with a stress fracture of the lower back. Sammy, at the age of 20, became the first international cricketer to emerge from St Lucia. For his actual playing debut, back at the Rose Bowl, Sammy took 1-19 off six overs and held on to three catches as West Indies beat Bangladesh by 138 runs.In 2007, he was selected for the West Indies tour of England in 2007. This time, the team won the NatWest limited overs series. And the 23-year-old St Lucian won his first Test cap in the Third Test match at Old Trafford on 7 June. He claimed his first Test wicket when he dismissed Alastair Cook caught by Dwayne Bravo, but his first innings was unremarkable save for his economy, giving up just 1.88 runs per over off 17 completed overs.
Playing at home, the West Indies had high hopes for the 2010 version of the ICC Twenty20 competition. Sammy had captained the West Indies in an unbeaten T20 and one-day international series against Canada and Ireland a few weeks earlier and several of the more experienced players had been part of the lucrative Indian Premier League.
The tournament did not start off too badly, Sammy scoring 30 as the West Indies made 138-9 against Ireland, then capturing 3-8 and holding on to a record four catches as Ireland were routed for just 68, the second-lowest total in Twenty20s, and losing by 70 runs.
But eventually West Indies were knocked out of contention when they were drubbed by Australia at Beausejour Cricket Grounds in St Lucia. He had a forgettable match in front of his home crowd, but overall, Sammy had had a good series. He ended with 51 runs in four innings, the fourth highest aggregate for West Indies, and his 12.75 was the seventh best average. But as a bowler, his six wickets and average of 12.0 topped the West Indies, and his economy rate of 5.26 runs per over was second.
In the second ODI against South Africa at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua-Barbuda, West Indies appeared well on their way to a second consecutive loss. 200-6 in the 41st over, well short of their winning target of 301, Sammy joined Dwayne Bravo at the crease. But six sixes and two fours later, it looked as though West Indies might just win. Sammy had amassed 58 runs, the fifty coming up off just twenty deliveries. It was the fastest fifty ever by a West Indies player, and more importantly, it had brought West Indies within reach of victory. But successive run-outs – Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul and Nikita Miller all went by that route – left Sammy stranded and the West Indies 17 runs shy.
On Sunday 17 October 2010 Darren was named captain of the West Indies Test team for its tour to Sri Lanka and until the end of the 2011 Home Series, replacing Chris Gayle.[8] Sammy replied to this statement saying "I have always given my all when I prepare and play for the West Indies and nothing will change now. I know this will be a difficult challenge and I will take the torch from Chris and hold it high as we forge ahead. I have been playing for the West Indies since 2004 and over those six years I have built strong relationships with many players and I expect to have the full support of the squad."

Career statistics

Competition ..............Test ........ODI ...............FC ............LA
Matches ........................8 ...........43 .................61 ............96
Runs scored .................291 ........508 ..............2,382 ........1,491
Batting average ...........19.40 .......24.19 ...........25.07 .........24.44
100s/50s ......................0/0 .........0/2 .............1/16 .............0/5
Top score ......................48 .........58* ..............121 .............65
Balls bowled ..............1,462 .......1,790 ...........8,467 .........4,140
Wickets ........................27 ...........31 ...............147............ 93
Bowling average ..........27.74 ......43.06 ............25.87 .........33.09
5 wickets in innings ........3 .............0 ..................9 ...............0
10 wickets in match ........0 .............0 ..................0 ...............0
Best bowling ...............7/66 .........4/26 ..............7/66 ...........4/16
Catches/stumpings .........8/– .........23/– ..............76/– .........53/–

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