Not too late for WICB to apologize to Sammy – PM

The management of West Indies Cricket could still make amends for what Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves has described as the “awful treatment” meted out to former senior team captain Darren Sammy.

During a press conference last Wednesday at the Argyle International Airport, Gonsalves, speaking as Prime Minister and chair of the regional prime ministerial subcommittee on cricket, said that it was not too late for the West Indies Cricket Board to reach out to Sammy and work out a way for both parties to cooperate for the continued benefit of West Indies cricket.{{more}}

“Both Mr [Courtney] Browne (West Indies selector)… and Whycliffe “David” Cameron, president of the board, should call Darren Sammy and say ‘listen, we screwed up; we didn’t do this thing properly.

“Secondly, and humbly, they must say to Darren Sammy, ‘look we would like you to help us in the transitioning and massaging the process… and we would like you very much to come with us to Florida to help us with this exercise; let bygones be bygones; let us try to see if we can do a new page of sensitivity….”

Last Saturday, Sammy revealed via a video posted on the social media platform Instagram, that he was informed during a 30-second phone call with the head of the selectors, that he was no longer the squad leader.

He also indicated that he was not selected to be a part of the team to play India in two T20 matches scheduled for August 27 and 28, in Florida, USA.

This was later confirmed by the West Indies Cricket Board, who announced that Sammy was replaced by Carlos Braithwaite as captain.

Sammy, who captained the senior team for the past six years, led the West Indies to world T20 victories in Sri Lanka four years ago, and once again earlier this year in India.

The St Lucian used this year’s presentation ceremony to lash out at the board for what he deemed to be their lack of support for the team.

Gonsalves, who made it clear that he was not calling for a boycott of West Indies cricket said that he would be putting his, and the other leaders’ disappointment about Sammy’s treatment in writing, and sending his letter via email that day.

He had some choice words for the board, which he said needed to get with the times, and indicated that things are about to change in the not too distant future.

“I’m just waiting until this series is over. I’ve spoken already to [Jamaican] Prime Minister [Andrew] Holness about the way forward; the Prime Minister [Freundel] Stewart, I have to speak to him. We have two legal opinions on how to proceed in relation to this matter; something has to be done. I know that the West Indies Cricket Board believes that they are a law unto themselves, but they cannot be a law unto themselves,” he added.

The Prime Minister also made it clear that he was not taking, nor making the matter personal, but he was just calling “a spade, a spade.

“Cricket belongs to us and we have to have a structure reflective of this.”

The West Indies cricket team is currently hosting India for the third of four test matches in St Lucia, ironically, at the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium.

The fourth test will begin on August 18 in Trinidad and Tobago, followed by the two T20s in the United States on August 27 and 28.(JJ)