As Darren Sammy's
pre-final press conference ended, a few journalists and camerapersons
standing at the back of the Premadasa media room actually clapped. If
you were looking for evidence of just what West Indies, even a
decade-and-a-half after their decline, mean to cricket and its fans,
here it was. No one clapped after Mahela Jayawardene had finished
speaking to the media; not even the local media men. While there is no
doubt Jayawardene and his men will have a packed Premadasa cheering for
them tomorrow, there is also no doubting who most neutral fans want to
win.
West Indies are the game's original, and only, gladiators. In their
prime, their bowlers put the fear of death in opposition batsmen's
minds, their batsmen fearlessly slaughtered opposition bowlers, and
their team ruled the cricket world with sheer force. Everywhere, fans
loved the raw skill and passion which West Indies brought to cricket.
The skill and passion have dimmed over the years, but fans still keep
waiting for some performances, or a performance, that will remind them
that once, this was a side which forced you to sit down and watch it do
its stuff.
In these difficult times, West Indies have invested their faith in a man
who has divided opinion in a way a modern captain scarcely has. Whether
he should be there in the side or not is a debate which will probably
continue as long as he is captain, but Sammy is the man who will go down
in history as the one who led West Indies to their first World Cup
final - albeit in the Twenty20 form - since 1983. Yes, it has taken just
two outright wins, over Australia and England in the Super Eights, to
make the final, but West Indies won't mind that.
Sammy has been nearly invisible with bat and ball through the tournament
while Chris Gayle has soaked in most of the attention. He has had to
face difficult questions over Gayle's absence from the squad and his
subsequent return. It was heartwarming to see Sammy jump around in the
dugout with delight after every Gayle six in the semi-final. The
captain has no pretensions to being a world-class player but has always
maintained he's there to bring the squad together, to involve everyone,
and make it easy for his players to perform without inhibition. Even
when he was asked about what the final meant for him as a leader, as
someone who had worked for a united squad, he only spoke about the
Caribbean people.
"For me, it is going to be a memorable occasion," Sammy said. "I am more
focussed on the team and the Caribbean people. I have just been playing
cricket for a few years but the fans have been supporting for a number
of years. To me it is all about them. They are who come and watch us
play, wake early in the morning and stay up late at night."
What if West Indies went a step further, what if they beat Sri Lanka
tomorrow? "It would be massive," Sammy said. "It's been over a decade
and the fans are craving for bigger success. That is the goal we left
the Caribbean with. We have been saying it in the dressing room, it is
one team, one people, one mission. We are just one step away from the
World Twenty20. When we do well people in the Caribbean are very happy,
work stops for a few hours back home. It would mean everything to us as
players, as coaching staff. It would give us a big boost."
Sammy said the last man who won a World Cup for West Indies, Clive
Lloyd, had a message for the side ahead of the final. "I got an email
from Mr. Lloyd saying we are very proud in the Caribbean of what the
team is doing, people are very happy and just go out and win it.
'Success comes before work only in the dictionary. Continue to work hard
so that you can reap success tomorrow,' he said. It means a lot to
everybody. That in itself will be the biggest motivation for us."
Lloyd and the people of the Caribbean won't be the only ones rooting for
West Indies tomorrow. There is a world title to be won, and probably
the entire cricketing world, barring the Sri Lankans, will be behind
Sammy and his men.
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