- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 16/Jul 18:44

Cricket West Indies president bats for coach Sammy

ON the same day he announced an emergency meeting would be convened after West Indies were bowled out for a woeful 27 in the third and final Test versus Australia at Sabina Park in Jamaica, Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Dr Kishore Shallow has stood firm in his defence of the team's all-format coach Daren Sammy. Speaking on the Starcom Network's Mason and Guest show on July 15, Shallow claimed Sammy has been receiving unfair criticism because of his nationality. In his first series as West Indies Test coach, Sammy watched on as the team fell to a 3-0 loss versus Australia. However, the Windies hit a new low in the Sabina Park day/night Test as their second innings score was their lowest in the format and the second-lowest team total in Test history. Cricket commentator Andrew Mason, the host of the Mason and Guest programme, has called for Sammy's sacking, along with other analysts in the region. Meanwhile, former Windies skipper Carl Hooper said Sammy must be held accountable after making wholesale changes to the squad he inherited from the previous coach Andre Coley. Shallow vehemently shut down any such notion. "Daren continues to get unfair criticism because he's from a small island. And listen, some people may run from that fact, but I won't run from the fact because insularity is still something which exists in our system that I believe we need to rid of," Shallow said. "So when you unfairly criticise Daren Sammy and call for his head after his very first Test series, despite seeing improved performances in the bowling, it could only be insularity." Shallow doubled down on his comments and said the criticism of Sammy even extended to his tenure as Windies captain, which included two runs to Twenty/20 World Cup titles. "I will repeat it if you want me to Andrew because I know you like to play it on radio and send it across on WhatsApp the following day. Daren Sammy, the head coach of the West Indies team, is being criticised unfairly because he's St Lucian. "You can challenge me on this because you can look at Daren Sammy's track record. When he was captain of the team, he was criticised unfairly. And now he's coach, how else could you explain calling for his head after his first Test series?" The Mason and Guest show also featured guests such as West Indies fast bowling legend Andy Roberts and CWI director of cricket Miles Bascombe. In his statement on July 15 after the Windies' horror show in Jamaica the previous day, Shallow said, "There will be sleepless nights ahead for many of us, including the players, who I know feel this loss just as heavily. But while disappointment is natural, we must now allow this moment to define our journey." Shallow has advised CWI's Cricket Strategy and Officiating Committee chairman Enoch Lewis to convene an emergency meeting with West Indies batting legends such as Brian Lara, Sir Clive Lloyd and Sir Vivian Richards. Shallow promised the meeting will not be a ceremonial one as he expects the perspectives of these past players to yield tangible and actionable recommendations to improve West Indies' batting output going forward. Guyanese batting legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ian Bradshaw and former chief selector Desmond Haynes also serve on the committee. The post Cricket West Indies president bats for coach Sammy appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.