West Indies Cricket Board president slams Darren Sammy for post-match speech

West Indian players, led by an emotional Sammy, hit out at the WICB for not supporting them

West Indies captain Darren Sammy celebrates after they defeated Engalnd in the final of the ICC World Twenty20 2016 cricket tournament at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. (AP)

 

 

St. John's (Antigua): The West Indies Cricket Board has slammed Darren Sammy for criticising the lack of support from WICB, terming the skipper's outburst following the team's dramatic World T20 triumph as "inappropriate". 

The bitter divisions in Caribbean cricket were laid bare on Sunday when the West Indian players, led by an emotional Sammy, hit out at the WICB for not supporting them.

Hours after Sammy gave vent to years of frustration, the Caribbean cricket board issued a statement headlined 'WICB President has high praises for World Twenty20 Organisers'.

"The President would like to however apologise for what could be deemed inappropriate, comments made by the West Indies' male captain, Darren Sammy in a post-match interview and would like to apologise on behalf of the WICB, to the millions of fans who witnessed (sic),

"The President has pledged to enquire the reason and will have the matter addressed," the statement said. 

WICB president Dave Cameron had appeared to take offence at Sammy's remarks by tweeting: "When is the last time a critic paid one of your bills? Always remember that when you start to give them your energy."

In the post-match press conference at the Eden Gardens last night, Sammy, in a reference to the lengthy and bitter pay dispute that had put their World T20 participation in doubt, said his team felt "disrespected by our board".

"We needed silverware in the Caribbean in 2012 and yes nobody gave us a chance back then. This one with all that happened before the tournament the disrespect from journalists and from our own cricket board that was out of order. The only way we could make statement is by winning this tournament," Sammy said.

"When you see those 15 men out there play now, that's what we could talk about. It is solely dedicated to the people and fans all over the world."

He further said, "We had a new manager in Rawle Lewis, who has never managed a team before. We had no uniforms, no printing.

"The trouble he went through to just get us in this uniform. I got to give credit to the entire team here."

Sammy also had another swipe at the board as he thanked Grenada Prime Minister Keith Mitchell for a good luck message received hours before the final.

"I really want to thank him. He sent a very inspiring message for the team this morning and I'm yet to hear from our own cricket board. That's very disappointing, added the 32-year-old all-rounder.