Darren Sammy
By Terry Finisterre, SNO Sport Correspondent
Remember 2012, when Daren Sammy eschewed the fame and fortune of the Bangladesh Premier League so that he could play for Windward Islands? Well, with a bit of time off T20 leagues, he is set to go back to his roots.
The former West Indies captain is set to make his return to the glorious green of the Windward Islands Volcanoes, when the sub-regional team lines up for the Nagico Regional Super-50 in January. He was one of three Saint Lucians named to the squad earlier this week for next month’s one-day tournament.
Not since 2011 has Sammy played in the Regional Super-50, which was then called the WICB Cup. He was absent on West Indies duty in 2011 and 2013, on which latter occasion Liam Sebastien led the Windwards to just their third List A title ever. In 2014, Sammy was again missing for the Windwards through injury.
The former Windward Islands captain’s List A batting average is right in line with his international mark, 24.58 to 24.94, the latter at a run a ball from 105 ODI innings for West Indies. He has made 13 half centuries in 157 List A innings, with 154 wickets in 187 matches, at an average of 37.68 runs per wicket.
Also on the team is West Indies opening batsman Johnson Charles. Remarkably, the veteran of 81 matches across the ODI and T20i formats actually has a poorer regional average – 24.93 – than his mark of 26.72 on the international ODI scene. He has three fifties and six hundreds in regional competition.
A newcomer to the squad is 24-year-old left arm Chinaman bowler and middle order batsman Audy Alexander, who made his first-class debut just last weekend. Audy is from Choiseul.
The Volcanoes team will be led by Liam Sebastien with Andre Fletcher as his deputy. Reportedly, the franchise has opted not to renew the contract of long-time coach Ian Alleyne, so Saint Lucia’s Alton Crafton – the team’s manager – will lead from the dugout, in a situation reminiscent of the West Indies since letting Phil Simmons go.
The full squad reads:
Liam Sebastien
Andre Fletcher
Devon Smith
Tyron Theophille
Johnson Charles
Kaveem Hodge
Sunil Ambris
Daren Sammy
Kyle Mayers
Delorn Johnson
Audy Alexander
Shane Shillingford
Kesrick Williams
Mervin Matthew
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