Daren Sammy

Daren Julius Garvey Sammy (born 20 December 1983) is a Saint Lucian former cricketer who played international cricket for the West Indies. He is now head coach of the West Indies cricket team. Quotes When we left the Caribbean, we had that as the motivation factor for us. In the last World Cup, the mantra was one team, one goal and the mission was to win the World Cup. This year the mantra is the same: One team, one goal, but the mission is to retain the title It’s something that no team has done before and we are very confident that we can do it. Once we play the brand of cricket that we played in the last three games, there is every possibility that we can do it. Probably, if we win this tournament, I won’t be Test captain much longer. For me, it has never been about whether I am captain or not. I just enjoy playing for West Indies. Not many people get to wake up in the morning and get to do something they love. I know I have a lot of friends who wake up on a Monday morning not wanting to go to work. For me, it’s about enjoying what I do and giving the best for the team. I have really worked hard and the last four years at the helm haven’t been a bed of roses. But I just keep on enjoying what I do for West Indies and it’s good to see the performances coming consistently and enjoying those phases. It has always been about West Indies. It has never been about Darren. I wouldn’t say we have an edge. After our first game, a lot of people said that West Indies are not going to progress to the next round and like I said, cricket is played on the pitch and the team who turn up and execute the plans properly and hold their nerve in pressure situations, they normally come out victorious. And, so far, barring that game against India, we have done that. It’s about continuing that process. We only have two more steps to take and we are going to focus on that main step, which is the semifinal and we know once we are in the final, anything is possible. "One team, one goal – to retain title: Sammy", April 02 2014 We will definitely cherish this moment, I will for sure. We’re going to relive it every day of our lives. This is the best moment for me in any cricket. This here (the trophy) is for the Caribbean people. West Indies fans all over the world have been craving success. I know they’re partying from Jamaica down to Guyana. And we know how to party. I think they’ll need a lot of bartenders. This is definitely a step (towards reliving the glory days of West Indian cricket), We believe we can win matches. We’re not trying just to compete any more. We believe we can win against good opposition. We showed signs of that in the last year or so, but we were not winning. Hopefully, this can be the start of something good for the West Indies team and the people. First of all, we have a strong belief in God. You know, he works in mysterious ways. He performs wonders. Like I kept saying in every press conference, there’s a belief we had in the team. Yes, we expected them (Sri Lanka) to give us a good fight and they did. Throughout the last year or so, we’ve been showing that never-say-die attitude, but we’ve not been winning games. In this tournament, we’ve won games. Every man believed that whoever was out there could do the job. Today, it was Marlon Samuels and (Dwayne) Bravo steadying the ship. In the end, every run counts. The bowling discipline was just brilliant, and the fielding. I said we needed our A-plus game, this here is proof of it. While the match was unfolding, the coach was saying that if we get the score we got in Pallekele (129 for 5 against Sri Lanka) on this wicket, we’ll win the match,. The momentum we had from our batting carried through to our bowling. It was Dwayne Bravo’s birthday, so in the huddle, I gave him the chance to say the last words before we went on the field. He said: ‘Let’s go out there and give it our all’. If we do that and play how we can play, these runs are going to be a fighting total. Ravi (Rampaul) started it off with his first ball, and we never looked back from there. I’ve said it many times that I play for the people. The commentators get paid to speak. The media get paid to write stories. I get paid to play cricket. And I always say I live my life one way. Christ came to this earth, did nothing wrong and yet was crucified. I’m nowhere close to that man. Anybody could have an opinion about me. I like it. My shoulders are broad enough. It’s been like that from the time I started cricket. Once I wear this crest (pointing to his shirt), I wear it on my heart. That’s what matters. If I turn up and don’t have a good day, I suck, I’ll come the next day and try and put in a better performance. I don’t play for glory. I play for the Caribbean people. When you look at what’s in the dressing room … I answered many questions about us being favourites to win. We have some of the most experienced Twenty20 players in our team. Once we play the way we can, we’ll always be a force to reckon with. We didn’t brag about it but we believed we could go out there and take it one game at a time. I said hurdle by hurdle, and today was the final one. The coach said we’re climbing to the top of a mountain, and that’s where the prize is. We’ve got to go and take it. Today, we did that. We had different persons coming up with performances in different matches. The team has gelled well in this tournament. Signs of progress have been there, but this is the icing on the cake. "Start of something good for West Indies: Sammy", October 08 2012 External links Category:Cricket coaches Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:Cricketers Category:Sportspeople from Saint Lucia