The winning mantra: Keep calm and Sammy on

Speaking to this newspaper back in July 2011, Darren Sammy had let us in on his wife's candid view about him being West Indies' skipper. "She tells me that I was the most loved cricketer in the Caribbean before I became captain," he had revealed.

Mrs Sammy hadn't been too far off the mark. Apart from earning praise for being a wholesomely committed cricketer, Sammy's ever-smiling demeanour had earned him many fans.

His popularity, however, had waned significantly ever since he was named captain in October 2010. There were just too many factors that weren't in favour of him leading the West Indies.

He was the first ever international cricketer from St Lucia, an island with no major cricket history. Traditionally, the best player had always been made captain in the West Indies. Sammy was anything but.

Many called him a management stooge, a beneficiary of the squabbles between the players' body and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). Most blamed him for the West Indies not being able to field their full-strength XI. Here was a captain who couldn't bowl or bat, they said.

Rather than get bogged down, Sammy has soaked in all the pressure, the criticism and the occasional praise. Much like a sponge. Having grown up wanting to become a pastor and even gone around preaching about Christianity and spirituality as a youngster, his strong links with religion have always kept him more or less level-headed.

"The almighty never puts his children in positions that he knows that they can't handle. I have given this captaincy over to the hands of the Lord," he had claimed in 2010.

Crown of thorns

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, it's said. But Sammy's relentless quest to prove his mettle has actually worked in West Indies's favour. With the all rounder thrust in the spotlight, the bigger talents and egos in the squad have been able to focus their energies in the right direction.

... contd.

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