Daren Julius Garvey Sammy (born 20 December 1983) is a
Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...
n
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
er who played international cricket for the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
. He is a two time
T20 World Cup
The ICC Men's T20 World Cup (earlier known as ICC World Twenty20) is the international championship of Twenty20. Organised by cricket's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), the tournament consists of 16 teams, comprising t ...
winning captain. On making his One-Day International (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 which were 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.
Sammy is the only captain to have won World T20 twice. He captained West Indies to the
2012 ICC World Twenty20
The 2012 ICC World Twenty20 was the fourth ICC World Twenty20 competition, an international Twenty20 cricket tournament that took place in Sri Lanka from 18 September to 7 October 2012 which was won by the West Indies. The schedule has been pos ...
victory against
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, West Indies' first major trophy for 8 years (having won the ICC Champions trophy against England in 2004). Sammy again captained West Indies to victory in the
2016 ICC World Twenty20
The 2016 ICC World Twenty20 was the sixth edition of the ICC World Twenty20, the world championship of Twenty20 International cricket. It was held in India from 8 March to 3 April 2016, and was the first edition to be hosted by India.
Seven ...
Pakistan Super League
The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league contested during February and March of every year by six teams representing six cities of Pakistan. The league was founded on 9 September 2015 with five teams by the Paki ...
from 2017 until 2020, when he stepped down due to fitness. He then agreed to a two-year head coaching contract for Peshawar Zalmi.
On 5 August 2016, Sammy was informed he was being dropped as T20I captain of
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
.
In the
2017 Birthday Honours
The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...
, Sammy was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(OBE) for services to sports.
For his part in bringing back international cricket to Pakistan, Sammy received the highest civilian medal of Pakistan,
Nishan-e-Pakistan
The Nishan-e-Pakistan ( ur, , , ''Order of Pakistan'') is the highest civilian award of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It is awarded for "those who have rendered services of highest distinction" to the national interest of Pakistan. Nishan i ...
on 23 March 2020. He was also awarded honorary Pakistani citizenship by the
President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Arif Alvi.
In June 2021, Sammy was appointed as a member of the Cricket West Indies (CWI)
Board of Directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
as an independent non-member director.
Debut
On 2 October 2001 Daren Sammy made his List A debut at the age of 17. Playing in the
Red Stripe Bowl
The Super50 Cup, currently named the CG Insurance Super50 Cup for sponsorship purposes is the domestic one-day cricket competition in the West Indies. It was previously known as the KFC Cup until the fast food chain pulled out of sponsorship in ...
for the Northern Windward Islands against
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
he bowled nine overs without taking a wicket and scored 25 runs before he was run out as his team slid to defeat. Playing three matches Sammy was his team's second-highest run-scorer with 90 runs, and took one wicket. Sammy was a member of the West Indies team to the 2002 Under-19 World Cup, which was held that year in New Zealand; he made 22 runs and took three wickets. Other members of that team, which lost to Australia in the semi-final, included Dwayne Bravo, Narsingh Deonarine,
Ravi Rampaul
Ravindranath Rampaul (born 15 October 1984) is a Trinidadian cricketer. Rampaul has played for Trinidad and Tobago in domestic cricket, in the Indian Premier League for Royal Challengers Bangalore, and in English County cricket for Surrey and ...
,
Shane Shillingford
Shane Shillingford, (born 22 February 1983) is a West Indian cricketer who plays first-class and List A cricket for the Windward Islands and Test cricket for the West Indies cricket team. On 4 March 2021 it was announced that Shillingford has ...
Gavin Tonge
Gavin Courtney Tonge (born 13 January 1983) is a West Indian cricketer. He is a right-arm fast-medium bowler and has represented the West Indies cricket team in One Day International and Test cricket, as well as playing first-class cricket for A ...
all of whom went on to play for the West Indies senior team.
Upon his return from New Zealand, Sammy was picked to attend the Shell Cricket Academy at
St. George's University
St. George's University is a private medical school and international university in Grenada, West Indies, offering degrees in medicine, veterinary medicine, public health, the health sciences, nursing, arts and sciences, and business.
St. Geo ...
in
Grenada
Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...
in 2002. The scheme aimed to help what were considered the Caribbean's "brightest cricketing prospects" develop skills to help them professionally, including areas such as money management to complement their cricketing ability. Other notable players in that classjust a handful would go on to play senior cricket for West Indiesincluded
Dwayne Smith
Dwayne Romel Smith (born 12 April 1983) is a former Barbadian international cricketer who has represented the West Indies in all three formats of the game. An all-rounder, he is known as an aggressive and powerful right-handed batsman, bowls m ...
Carlton Baugh
Carlton Seymour Baugh (born 23 June 1982) is a Jamaican cricketer. He attended Wolmer's Schools
He is an aggressive right-hand batsman, wicketkeeper and occasional bowler of leg breaks and googlies. His Test debut came during a five-day matc ...
,
Daren Powell
Daren Brent Lyle Powell (born 15 April 1978) is a former West Indian international cricketer who played first-class cricket for Jamaica. As a right-arm fast medium bowler, he has played Test matches and One Day Internationals (ODI) for the W ...
, and
Omari Banks
Omari Ahmed Clement Banks (born 17 July 1982) is an Anguillan musician and former cricketer, who appeared in 10 Test cricket, Test matches for the West Indies cricket team, West Indies, as well as domestic matches for the Leeward Islands cricket ...
.
On 31 January 2003, Sammy made his first-class debut for the
Windward Islands
french: Îles du Vent
, image_name =
, image_caption = ''Political'' Windward Islands. Clockwise: Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada.
, image_alt =
, locator_map =
, location = Caribbean SeaNorth ...
against
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
in the 2002/03
Carib Beer Cup
The Regional Four Day Competition, formerly known as Shell Shield and Carib Beer Cup, is the first-class cricket competition in the West Indies. It is administered by the Cricket West Indies. In the 2013-2014 season the winner of the tourname ...
. Batting at number seven, he scored no runs before being dismissed by spin bowler
Sulieman Benn
Sulieman Jamaal Benn (born 22 July 1981 in Saint James, Barbados) is a West Indian cricketer who plays international cricket for the West Indies and first-class cricket for Barbados.
Benn debuted in 1999/00, as a left-arm orthodox spin bowler. ...
in the first innings, but fared better in the second, scoring 25 and falling to Benn again. Sammy bowled six overs in the match without taking a wicket. He played one further match in that season's cup, again succumbing for a
duck
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...
in the first innings and failing to take a wicket. In the second innings he recorded his maiden first-class half-century, scoring 53 runs from 70 balls before he was dismissed by spin bowler
Mahendra Nagamootoo
Mahendra Veeren Nagamootoo (மகேந்திர வீரன் நாகமுத்து) (born October 9, 1975) is a former cricketer for Guyana and the West Indies and of Tamil Indo-Guyanese ethnicity.
In 2005, Nagamootoo took the most ...
. At the start of the 2003 season in England, Sammy joined the
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...
(MCC) Young Cricketers. Whilst still a member of the Young Cricketers, Sammy was called to the West Indies to join the
University of the West Indies
The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...
Vice Chancellor's XI against England in a warm-up match.
International cricket career
First international experience
Following a successful domestic season in which Sammy finished as the Windward Islands' second highest wicket-taker in the Regional Four Day Competition with 22 scalps and 261 runs, he was the only uncapped player selected in the 15-man West Indies squad for the NatWest Triangular One Day International Series with England and New Zealand in June 2004. Counting in favour of his selection was Sammy's experience of English conditions: in 2003 he played for Barnes Cricket Club in the Middlesex Premier Cricket League. He subsequently earned his first West Indies cap in odd circumstances. Due to heavy rain the West Indies' match against New Zealand at the Rose Bowl was abandoned without a ball being bowled. But the captains had already completed the toss, and the fixture counts in ICC records as Sammy's first match.
In September, Sammy was recalled to the senior team in place of 22-year-old Jamaican fast bowler
Jermaine Lawson
Jermaine Jay Charles Lawson (born 13 January 1982) is a former professional cricketer. A fast bowler from Jamaica, he played at Test and One Day International (ODI) level for the West Indies during the early 2000s, becoming the fourth West India ...
who withdrew from the Champions Trophy squad with a stress fracture of the lower back. Sammy, at the age of 20, became the first international cricketer to emerge from St Lucia. For his actual playing debut, back at the Rose Bowl, Sammy took 1 wicket for 19 runs (1/19) off six overs and held on to three catches as West Indies beat Bangladesh by 138 runs. It was the only match Sammy played in the tournament. The West Indies went on to win the trophy, beating England in the final.
Early international career
When the West Indies toured India in January 2007 Sammy was included in the squad, with a chance to make his Test debut. However, shortly before the team departed, he suffered an injury that ruled him out of the tour. After that set-back, Sammy travelled to England in April and May where he played in the Central Lancashire League ahead of the West Indies' tour of the country in May. He was selected in the touring squad. This time, the team won the NatWest limited overs series. And the 23-year-old St Lucian won his first Test cap in the third Test match at
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
on 7 June. He claimed his first Test wicket when he dismissed
Alastair Cook
Sir Alastair Nathan Cook (born 25 December 1984) is an English cricketer who plays for Essex County Cricket Club, and played for England in all international formats from 2006 to 2018. A former captain of the England Test and One-Day Intern ...
caught by Dwayne Bravo, but his first innings was unremarkable save for his economy, giving up just 1.88 runs per over off 17 completed overs. In the second innings, though, Sammy caught England captain Michael Vaughan off his own bowling, with the England score 99/2. In his 17th over, he had Ian Bell caught behind by Ramdin. Next ball he had
Matt Prior
Matthew James Prior (born 26 February 1982) is a South African-born English former cricketer, who played for England in Test cricket and for Sussex County Cricket Club in domestic cricket. He was a wicket-keeper and his aggressive right-handed ...
by the same route. A couple of balls later, on the same score he dismissed
Liam Plunkett
Liam Edward Plunkett (born 6 April 1985) is an English cricketer who bowls right-arm fast. He was an England international until 2019, and was part of the squad that won the 2019 Cricket World Cup. He most recently played domestic cricket for S ...
, caught by Bravo. Five wickets gone, four to Sammy, three in five balls. He continued his excellent debut, capturing the wickets of Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar, before snagging Paul Collingwood to end with seven wickets for 66 runs. His bowling figures were the best at
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
since Malcolm Marshall's 7/22 in 1988, and the best by any West Indian on debut since Alf Valentine took 8/102 in 1950.
As an all-rounder Sammy did not cover himself in glory on that tour, averaging just 14.20 runs from 10 innings, twice unbeaten. He had just the tenth highest aggregate on a tour that included matches against Scotland and the Netherlands. As a bowler, he excelled with a team-best average of 17.72, 18 wickets (third on the team) from 93.5 overs (five other players bowled more overs than Sammy).
Sammy was called up to the
Stanford Superstars
The 2008 Stanford Super Series was a cricket tournament sponsored by Texan billionaire Allen Stanford. The tournament was played between 25 October – 1 November consisting of 5 warm-up matches and a US$20 million for the grand finale. This fin ...
, a team compiled by American billionaire Allen Stanford, when Dwayne Bravo pulled out with an injury. He was not slated to play the first game, but Shivnarine Chanderpaul had a neck strain that precluded his participation. So all Sammy did was to provide electric fielding and consistent bowling to force his way into the side. As expected, the Superstars made it to the series finale to face England. The prize money at stake was US$20 million, $1 million each to the players on the winning team. Bowling first, the Superstars dismissed England for 99 runs. Sammy took 2/13 and made one catch. He did not bat in the series.
During the 2008/09 Regional Four Day Competition, Sammy played seven matches for the Windward Islands, scoring 476 runs at an average of 43.27 (the second highest for the club that season) and recording his maiden first-class century. His innings of 121 came from 140 balls and was scored against
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
who were fielding a bowling line up including Tino Best, Kemar Roach, and
Corey Collymore
Corey Dalanelo Collymore (born 21 December 1977) is a former Barbadian cricketer, who represented the West Indies team in both Tests and ODIs cricket as seam bowler.
Collymore also played for Barbados, Warwickshire, Sussex and Middlesex ...
who all had international experience. During the innings he also passed 2,000 runs in first-class cricket. Sammy took 23 wickets in the competition at an average of 21.65.
In July 2009, there was a pay dispute between the West Indies players and the
West Indies Cricket Board
Cricket West Indies (CWI) is the governing body for cricket in the West Indies (a sporting confederation of over a dozen mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries and dependencies that once formed the British West Indies). It was originally ...
(WICB). An understrength squad was picked for the series against Bangladesh. Of the 15 players named, nine were uncapped; Sammy was appointed vice-captain and in the Test seven West Indies players made their debut. The West Indies lost the series 2–0 as Bangladesh secured their first overseas series win. Sammy was the West Indies second-highest wicket-taker in the series with 12 wickets at an average of 17.33. he also scored 90 runs at an average of 22.50.
The WICB announced its central contracts in November 2009, and Sammy was included in the 33-man list. He was given a Grade B contract (the second-highest level) worth $80,000. His career-best Man of the Match figures of 4–26 in the third ODI in Saint Vincent & the Grenadines would have been more flattering still had captain Chris Gayle been able to hold on to a catch that would have given the tall Saint Lucian the distinction of becoming the first West Indian to take a five-fer in every form of the game; he had 5–26 off the same opponents in a Twenty20 International earlier in the series. West Indies bowled Zimbabwe for 104, having made 245.
In the fourth ODI, Sammy took 1–24 as West Indies won by four wickets; in the final match, he had 3–33 as West Indies again won by four wickets. Sammy finished the series as West Indies' joint top wicket-taker, himself and Kemar Roach sharing 16 scalps equally.
Playing at home, the West Indies had high hopes for the 2010 version of the Twenty20 competition. The tournament did not start off too badly, Sammy scoring 30 as the West Indies made 138–9 against Ireland, then capturing 3–8 and holding on to a record four catches as Ireland were routed for just 68, the second-lowest total in Twenty20s, and losing by 70 runs. But eventually West Indies were knocked out of contention when they were drubbed by Australia at
Beausejour Cricket Ground
The Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, previously the Beausejour Cricket Ground, is a cricket ground located near Gros Islet, Saint Lucia standard seating capacity of 15,000. It was completed in 2002 and currently accommodates 13,000 spectators.
Origi ...
in Saint Lucia. He had a forgettable match in front of his home crowd, but overall, Sammy had had a good series. He ended with 51 runs in four innings, the fourth highest aggregate for West Indies, and his 12.75 was the seventh best average. But as a bowler, his six wickets and average of 12.0 topped the West Indies, and his economy rate of 5.26 runs per over was second.
In the second ODI against South Africa at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua-Barbuda, West Indies appeared well on their way to a second consecutive loss. 200–6 in the 41st over, well short of their winning target of 301, Sammy joined Dwayne Bravo at the crease. But six sixes and two fours later, it looked as though West Indies might just win. Sammy had amassed 58 runs, the fifty coming up off just twenty deliveries. It was the fastest fifty ever by a West Indies player, and more importantly, it had brought West Indies within reach of victory.
But successive run-outs –
Denesh Ramdin
Denesh Ramdin (born 13 March 1985) is a Trinidadian cricketer who played internationally for the West Indies. He is a right-handed wicketkeeper-batsman. He retired from all forms of international cricket in July 2022.
In July 2005, Ramdin made b ...
,
Ravi Rampaul
Ravindranath Rampaul (born 15 October 1984) is a Trinidadian cricketer. Rampaul has played for Trinidad and Tobago in domestic cricket, in the Indian Premier League for Royal Challengers Bangalore, and in English County cricket for Surrey and ...
and
Nikita Miller
Nikita O'Brien Miller (born 16 May 1982) is a West Indian cricketer who plays international cricket for the West Indies and domestic cricket for Jamaica. He is a slow left-arm orthodox bowler and lower-order batsman. He was the leading wicket ta ...
all went by that route – left Sammy stranded and the West Indies 17 runs shy.
West Indies captain
On 17 October 2010 Sammy was named captain of the West Indies Test team for its tour to Sri Lanka and until the end of the 2011 season, replacing Chris Gayle. At the time Sammy had played 8 Tests and 41 ODIs. The previous captain and vice, Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo respectively, had chosen not to sign central contracts with the West Indies Cricket Board and were replaced. Between January 2004 and the start of the tour to Sri Lanka in November, the West Indies had won just five of their previous 62 Tests and were expected to lose the three match series against a team with a good home record. In a series shortened by poor weather Sammy scored 10 runs and took two wickets at an average of 75.50, and while he said he wanted to improve his own performance Sammy stated that he was pleased with the 0–0 result of the series. In the 2–0 defeat to Sri Lanka in the subsequent ODI series, Sammy scored 28 runs and sent down 19 wicketless overs.
Pakistan toured the West Indies in April and May 2011 for a T20I, five ODIs, and two Tests. In the first match of the Test series West Indies secured their first victory since 2009, ending a 17-match run without a win. Sammy took seven wickets in the match, including five in Pakistan's second innings, and was named Man of the Match for his performance. West Indies lost the second match, drawing the series 1–1; Sammy was his team's second-highest wicket-taker, claiming ten at an average of 17.90. The following month Sammy was named T20I player of the year at the
West Indies Players Association The West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) is the representative body for professional cricketers from the Caribbean nations that constitute the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
As the exclusive representative and bargaining agent of players sel ...
Cricinfo
ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a d ...
recorded that Sammy led with passion and "bowled his heart out"; he finished with seven wickets from three matches at an average of 38.28. While playing, Sammy had to deal with distractions from hostile crowds and pundits who criticised his appointment as captain as some believed he could not hold down a place as a player alone.
Initially named as captain until the end of the 2011 season, Sammy was retained as captain across all formats for the tours of Bangladesh and India. In October Sammy's Grade B central contract was renewed; he was one of four players with a Grade B contract, the second highest category (Shivnarine Chanderpaul was the only player with a Grade A). Later that month, the West Indies toured Bangladesh. Sammy missed the first ODI through illness, but returned to captain the side in the remaining two. West Indies won the series 2–1 and Sammy took two wickets. The first Test was curtailed by rain and ended in a draw, and Sammy top-scored for his team. Having played 17 Tests, the innings of 58 runs from 43 balls was Sammy's first half-century in the format. West Indies won the second Test to take the series, and in the process Sammy dismissed Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan to claim his 50th Test wicket.
Following on from the Bangladesh series, the West Indies moved on to India in November for three Tests and five ODIs. West Indies lost the Test series 2–0 and Sammy finished as his team's highest wicket-taker with nine at an average of 34.77. In the ODI series, Sammy took a single wicket from 21.5 overs as West Indies succumbed to a 4–1 defeat. The West Indies faced Australia in a five-match ODI series in March 2012. Sammy's team won the second match by five wickets, ending a series of 13 defeats against Australia that extended back to 2006. The West Indies entered the final match with a 2–1 lead and a chance to register their first series win against Australia since 1995. In the event Australia won by 30 runs, but the margin of victory was smaller than it would have been had Sammy not scored 84 runs from 50 deliveries, his highest score in the format and an effort for which he was named Man of the Match. In the Test series that followed, Sammy managed just five wickets from three matches at an average just above forty. As a batsman he was more successful, and was one of three West Indies batsmen to score more than 150 runs in the series. With the West Indies on 13/2 chasing 215 to win from 61 overs on the final day of the second Test, Sammy promoted himself up the batting order to number three to accelerate the scoring rate. He managed 30
not out
In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress.
Occurrence
At least one batter is not out at t ...
from 26 deliveries before rain intervened and the match ended in a draw. West Indies lost the third Test by 75 runs to lose the series 2–0, but during his team's chase of 370 to win on the final day Sammy scored his second Test half-century, 61 from 51 deliveries, bettering his previous highest Test score of 58.
The 2011/12 season saw Sammy improve as a batsman: in the series against India and Australia Sammy scored over 100 runs, which he had not done previously in a Test series. This trend continued when the West Indies toured England in May 2012. Sammy began the series with scores of 17 and 37 in the first Test at Lord's, during which he passed 3,000 runs in first-class cricket. In the following Test, in his 26th Test, Sammy registered his maiden Test century. It was just the seventh time a number eight batsman had scored a century for the West Indies. Sammy partnered
Marlon Samuels
Marlon Nathaniel Samuels (born 5 February 1981) is a former Jamaican cricketer who played internationally for the West Indies in all three formats, and a former ODI captain. He is a right-handed middle order batsman and an off-spinner. He was a ...
in a 204-run stand, the second-highest for the West Indies' seventh wicket. The West Indies lost the Test and drew the next one to lose the series 2–0; Sammy finished with 201 runs from five innings and was his team's third highest run-scorer in the series while his six wickets cost 48.50 runs each. Commenting on Sammy's performance in the series, former West Indies captain
Viv Richards
Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards (born 7 March 1952) is an Antiguan retired cricketer who represented the West Indies cricket team between 1974 and 1991. Batting generally at number three in a dominant West Indies side, Richards is widely ...
said "All of a sudden there was this new-found confidence. You need to have a leader who can come out to the middle and make some sort of contribution. He has done enough and should not feel he has one foot in and one foot out as far as the leadership in concerned. He has done his bit to provide a winning environment."
New Zealand toured the West Indies between June and August 2012. The fixtures included two Tests, five ODIs, and two T20Is, and the West Indies won every match apart from the third ODI. Sammy guided the team to their first Test series victory since 2009 against a Test side other than minnows Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. He carried on his good form with the bat, scoring a half-century in the first Test.
Sammy led the West Indies in the 2012 World Twenty20 hosted by Sri Lanka. For the first time in a long time, the West Indies were considered realistic contenders for the title, a measure of how the team has matured under the auspices of Sammy. However, it was as an individual player that he came under scrutiny in the tournament. In the journey from group stages to the final, Sammy contributed 27 runs with the bat from four visits to the crease and overall bowling figures of 2/125, and drew a lot of criticism as many people felt he was keeping better players out of the side. But in the final, when it mattered most, Sammy scored 26 not out from 15 balls and took two key wickets (almost matching his batting and bowling tally for the rest of the tournament) to help his team overcome a slow start and defeat Sri Lanka.
In the
2013 ICC Champions Trophy
The 2013 ICC Champions Trophy was the seventh ICC Champions Trophy, a One Day International cricket tournament held in England and Wales between 6 and 23 June 2013.
India won the competition, beating England by five runs in the final after over ...
he along with
Kemar Roach
Kemar Andre Jamal Roach (born 30 June 1988) is a Barbadian international cricketer who plays for the West Indies. He played in the 2006 U-19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka and has represented the West Indies in Test and One Day International c ...
set the record for the highest 10th wicket partnership in
ICC Champions Trophy
The ICC Champions Trophy is a One-Day International (ODI) cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council. The 2013 tournament was intended to be the final edition of the Champions Trophy, but it was extended to 2017 due to i ...
history (51*)
In March 2016, Sammy captained West Indies to victory in the 2016 edition of ICC World Twenty20, beating England in the final in India.
On 6 April 2016, Beauséjour Cricket Ground, a cricket ground located near Gros Islet, St Lucia having a
seating capacity
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
of 15,000 was renamed to the
Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium
The Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, previously the Beausejour Cricket Ground, is a cricket ground located near Gros Islet, Saint Lucia standard seating capacity of 15,000. It was completed in 2002 and currently accommodates 13,000 spectators.
Orig ...
.
In August 2016 he was dropped as T20I captain and the chairman of selectors said he did not merit a place in the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
squad. Carlos Brathwaite replaced him for the T20I leadership role.
In August 2017, he was named in a World XI side to play three Twenty20 International matches against Pakistan in the 2017 Independence Cup in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
, and he was made captain of that franchise in
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
. For the 2015 edition, he was released by Hyderabad, and subsequently signed by
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore (often abbreviated as RCB) are a franchise cricket team based in Bangalore, Karnataka, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). It was founded in 2008 by United Spirits and named after the company's liquor b ...
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...
,
Pervaiz Khattak
Pervez Khan Khattak ( ur, ; ps, پروېز خان خټک; born 1 January 1950) is a Pakistani politician and a member of PTI who served as the Defence Minister of Pakistan from 20 August 2018 until the dissolution of National Assembly on 3 ...
, offered the all-rounder honorary Pakistani citizenship in response to a special request by Peshawar Zalmi ownership, which Sammy accepted. Sammy played for Peshawar Zalmi in the inaugural Pakistan Super League in 2016. In the 2017 PSL draft, he was retained by Peshawar Zalmi. During the draft, captain Shahid Afridi made the announcement of naming Sammy the new captain of Peshawar Zalmi. With Sammy as it's captain, the team won the second edition of the PSL.
In May 2018, he was named as one of the ten marquee players for the
first edition
The bibliographical definition of an edition includes all copies of a book printed from substantially the same setting of type, including all minor typographical variants.
First edition
According to the definition of ''edition'' above, a b ...
of the
Global T20 Canada
The Global T20 Canada is a 20-over cricket tournament played in Canada. The first edition of the tournament took place during June and July 2018 with six teams competing. Each team featured four local Canadian cricketers in each squad, along wi ...
cricket tournament. On 3 June 2018, he was selected to play for the Toronto Nationals in the players' draft for the inaugural edition of the tournament. In June 2019, he was selected to play for the Brampton Wolves franchise team in the
2019 Global T20 Canada
The 2019 Global T20 Canada was the second edition of the Global T20 Canada, a 20-over professional cricket tournament, played at the CAA Centre, Brampton, Ontario. It started on 25 July 2019, and concluded with the final on 11 August 2019. It ...
tournament. In July 2020, he was named in the St Lucia Zouks squad for the
2020 Caribbean Premier League
The 2020 Caribbean Premier League (CPLT20) or for sponsorship reasons, Hero CPL 2020 was the eighth season of the Caribbean Premier League, the domestic Twenty20 cricket league played in the West Indies. All matches were played in Trinidad and ...
.
Playing style
Sammy has a reputation for bowling long spells and his medium-fast pace bowling is used to support strike bowlers. He has commented that "We all have roles in the team and I've clearly understood what my role is in the team, which is to build pressure and be the workhorse of the team. I've accepted that and that's how I've played throughout my career." He aims to do this by bowling dot balls to create pressure. Sammy feels that because he is a support bowler batsmen relax against him and are more prone to make mistakes. A consistent bowler, though he does not move the ball much Sammy delivers the ball with an upright seam and uses the crease to vary his angle of delivery. As a batsman, his strike-rate in ODIs of 98.11 is the second highest amongst West Indian players who have faced at least 500 deliveries (behind all-rounder Andre Russell on 119.34), and in ODI innings of at least 25 runs holds the second, third, and fourth highest strike rates of West Indian players.
Racism
In a series of posts on his Instagram stories, he said that some of his teammates from IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad called him 'Kalu'. He also said that he got to know that these were derogatory words after having seen popular comedian and satirist Hasan Minhaj's Patriot Act episode on the
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
protests happening all across the United States of America following the
murder of George Floyd
On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's n ...
, an African American by the Minneapolis police officials. He also said that every time he was called that word, there would be laughter and he thought it was something funny and never thought much about it. He then also released an Instagram video where he said that he has messaged his teammates asking for an explanation before revealing the names of those that called him racist names.
Personal
Sammy grew up in a very religious household. His mother wanted him to become a pastor at the local Adventist Church. Sammy married Cathy Daniel in 2010. He has four children- Darren, Darjhan, Skai and Xzavier Reign. He has started the Darren Sammy Foundation that works with the youth by giving them scholarships among other things.