Former West Indies wicketkeeper Jeff Dujon feels unless Darren Sammy’s men beat top sides, they can’t be taken seriously.
What can the World T20 win do to the West Indies cricket?
It think it will generate a great deal of local interest. It will draw more people to the ODIs since the expectations are high. How it will affect the West Indies economy remains to be seen.
What should the West Indies cricket board and the players do to capitalise on this win?
First of all to win some more and continue winning. This is an isolated tournament. They have to show consistency. Only then they would be perceived as a real asset in terms of the board using their success to move forward and get more sponsorships to organise the lower levels of the game.
You mean they should be winning consistently in other formats too, isn’t it?
T20 is no indication of how good you are in the other formats. Unless you show some credibility at the other levels, you can’t use the victory as an indication of going forward other than in T20.
Can it be said that skipper Darren Sammy, Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels and Kieron Pollard are the core group, going forward?
As I said, we need to wait. As far as T20 is concerned, Gayle’s presence has been huge. Samuels’s performance was as significant. They were the team’s main thrust, but I maintain the bowling is still weak.
Did you expect the West Indies would go the distance in the T20 World Cup?
It has a lot to do with the team that played well on that particular day. The West Indies, on paper, had balance, with all-rounders and people with experience from the IPL. They exceeded themselves by taking advantage of the opportunities. Given the quality of the Sri Lankan batting, the West Indies should have lost. But they created pressure and Sri Lanka were not up for it.
The cricket world hopes that the West Indies, after his win, will recapture its glorious days. Is this the start?
We still have to improve in the rankings. We have to grow in the other formats and beat teams ranked above us. Unless that happens, I don’t think we can be taken seriously with regard to being a top force.
How crucial is Sammy’s role here?
He has been in the position for quite a while. Going forward, hopefully the team will understand how important it is to play together. Sammy has been talking about unity among his players, which is a nice concept. Within the West Indies, we are not one country. We are separate territories. That still needs to be sorted out before saying that we are providing a united front.
