By
Garth Wattley
Being
the West Indies captain is like being the holder of high political office.
You
have a constituency to answer to, their expectations are very high and some
will be detractors no matter how much good you do. You will also be judged on
performance.
Since
taking over one of the highest profile jobs in Caribbean society from Chris Gayle
in late 2010, Darren Julius Garvey Sammy has experienced first-hand the effects
of all the above. Especially the judgement on performance part.
Strictly
on bald figures, a record of two wins and six losses in 16 Test matches and 13
wins, 19 losses, a tie and a no-result in 34 One-day Internationals does not
present a case for an extended stay in office.
But
with good reason, the expression "damned lies" often is mentioned in
the same breath with statistics.
For
the past week, I have been thinking about Sammy and his record and his critics.
He
was not obligated to take the job when the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB)
offered it to him, and no one can say that he campaigned to be captain. But at
the same time, it is hard to imagine that any past WI skipper has come to the
job with a greater degree of scepticism hanging over him.
In
so insular a place as this, the fact that he is a St Lucian under a board with
a St Lucian president and CEO has not helped him ease into the job. His modest
record with bat and ball made an even stronger case for the opposition. By
popular consensus it seemed, Sammy was a man not worth his place in the team
and should never have been captain. As he gets ready for what will surely be
another difficult experience in England this week, he still cannot shake the
"loser" tag.
I
wonder however if he is not a victim of a thing being repeated often enough
until it is accepted as fact. It does not seem to matter what the evidence may
show in the case of Sammy. But consider a few things, please.
When
it comes to having a losing record as West Indies captain, Sammy has plenty of
company. Since Richie Richardson gave up the job after the 1996 World Cup, no
West Indian captain has won more than he has lost. Excluding Ridley Jacobs,
Dwayne Bravo and Floyd Reifer who were stop-gaps, we are talking about eight
men.
Sammy's
record is comparable and in some cases better than his predecessors. Shivnarine
Chanderpaul for instance won one, lost 10 and drew three in his tortuous 14
Test matches in charge. In 15 games, Jimmy Adams won four and lost eight, Carl
Hooper won four and lost 11 in 22, while Gayle's 20 Tests at the helm brought
three wins but also nine losses. Already however, Sammy's teams have drawn as
many matches in 16--eight--as Gayle managed in his 20. And it is unlikely that
Sammy will be allowed to stay in charge for 47 matches like Brian Lara did in
three spells and lose 26 games while winning just 11.
Of
course, there are many variables, like strength of the teams and the quality of
the opponents against whom wins were achieved. The point is though, that
Sammy's team--a currently very green side--is doing no worse than the ones that
have gone before.
And
what about the captain's own cricket?
Ad
nauseam, it has been said by experts and John Public alike that Sammy as
all-rounder (a very loose description) is not worth his place in the side, that
he unbalances it, that he is keeping a more deserving player out. Who exactly,
on current form is that more deserving player?
Since
they both fill the same role, let us use Dwayne Bravo as a comparison. There
can be no question about Bravo's ability and overall value to the teams he
plays for. But in his last five Tests (2010) he averaged 19.10. In Sammy's last
five he averages 24.44 which is higher than his overall 19.09. With the ball,
Bravo got five wickets in his last five games, Sammy took nine in his last
five.
If
the time gap makes you suspicious, then check what happened in the last ODI
series against Australia. Sammy averaged 53.33 with the bat in those five games
and took four wickets (36.75) and Bravo 18.80 with the bat and six wickets
(34.16) with the ball. Just by extension, Andre Russell averaged 28.25 with the
bat and took six wickets (26.33).
Numbers
sometimes are useful. In this case, they show the captain is contributing more
runs to the team now, in both forms of the game. In the just concluded Test
rubber against Australia, a difficult series for batsmen on both sides, Sammy
averaged over 31 and was third behind Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Darren Bravo
only among West Indians. And while his bowling has not been as penetrative as
he no doubt would like so far this year, last season he contributed 30 wickets
in Tests while Devendra Bishoo got 39, Fidel Edwards 32 and Ravi Rampaul 31.
Sammy also had the satisfaction of actually winning a match for his team--the
first Test against Pakistan in Guyana--with his seam bowling.
This
season, Sammy's runs surely played a part in West Indies' sharing the ODI and
Twenty20 series with Australia, the No.1 ranked ODI side. Those results were
unexpected and represented an improvement on results in the corresponding ODI
series last season when WI lost to both Pakistan and India.
Even
in losing 2-0 to the Aussies in the Tests, the Windies so far in 2012 have
mirrored the spirit of their skipper who never stops trying. Sammy is a man who
recognises his limitations and plays within them. He keeps working for
improvement and this year, has been reaping some reward. So have the Windies.
In
separate interviews in Dominica, both Australian captain Michael Clarke and
coach Mickey Arthur were moved to speak of the improvement they saw in the
Windies as a team.
To
stay in the job, Sammy will have to keep getting good results against the
better teams, especially in Test cricket. But it would be disingenuous of the
naysayers to downplay the improved results this year, even if they are limited,
or to brush aside his own contributions to the side.
And
at a time when it is the norm to question the commitment of players to West
Indies cricket, is it not a bonus to have a leader of Sammy's disposition?
Watching
him handle the media in this recent series, I noted the greater poise he seems
to have, the bits of humour he allowed himself. He was a credit to the office,
a man handling a very difficult job with all the grace he could muster.
Eventually,
this West Indies team will outgrow Sammy. But that time has not come yet.
So
in the meantime, as the song says, keep doing what you're doing Sammy.
Source:
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/sports/The_truth_about_Sammy-149769805.html
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