Signed for a single season in the T20 competition and playing just four games, Daren Sammy never really got to show the Trent Bridge faithful the class, skill and determination that made him such a significant player in West Indies cricket in the first quarter of the 21st Century – captaining them in all three formats.
On making his ODI debut against Bangladesh in 2004, Sammy became the first person from the island of St Lucia to play international cricket. Three years later he made his Test debut against England, taking 7-66, the best bowling figures for a West Indian in his first Test since Alf Valentine in 1950. Sammy was appointed West Indies captain in October 2010. He scored his maiden Test century in May 2012 during a match against England.
He remains the only player to captain two World T20 winning sides, in 2012 and 2016, after which the 15,000-seater Beauséjour Cricket Ground, on St Lucia was renamed the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium.
Sammy has played T20 cricket around the world, most notably perhaps in the Pakistan Super League in which he skippered Peshawar Zalmi to an unlikely victory in the 2017 league. This achievement resulted in him being offered the highest civilian medal of Pakistan, Nishan-e-Pakistan, that he was due to receive in March 2020. He was also awarded with honorary Pakistani citizenship by President Arif Alvi.
Daren (sometimes Darren) Sammy, a bowling all-rounder, played for Notts in the 2015 T20 tournament; in four games he recorded a highest score of 36no and a bowling return of three wickets at an average of 30.00 – a modest record for one of his international standing.
May 2020