Signs of Stability says Sammy     


       KHULNA, Bangladesh – Darren Sammy said WestIndies’ victory in their two-Test series against Bangladesh was testimony to the growing consistency of the side.

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The West Indies captain was reflecting on the series, following his side’s 10-wicket victory in the second and final Test on Sunday at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium here.

The result meant that West Indies had won four straight Test for the first time since 1993, and four Test in a year for the first time since 2002.

“It’s a good feeling when you are winning, and it’s even better when you plan and you go out and execute and see your teammates perform consistently,” said Sammy.

“It was good being a part of this Test series and to see the little steps we are taking in bettering ourselves and moving up the ladder in Tests.”

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Sammy said part of the reason for the recent string of successes has been the settled team that has played throughout the year.

“The guys in this team played against New Zealand and were in England, with Chris Gayle returning to the team, so it’s a more settled squad, just like our Twenty20 team is quite settled, so is our One-day International team,” he said.

“The more we play together on the cricket field, the more we know about each other. The most encouraging thing for me is that when we turn up, we know what to expect from the different players.”

He said: “You know what Tino Best will give you, or when Marlon Samuels goes out to bat and he starts his innings, you know what you will get from him, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and all of the other players.

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“We also have guys who continue to play domestic cricket at home who perform and will challenge for places in the team. The nucleus of the team is quite settled, but the guys have been performing consistently in the last 6 to 12 months, so it is a good sign for us.”

Sammy said he felt West Indies had gone through a process of developing a culture geared towards winning Tests, which they have been working hard to achieve over the last few years.

“We will continue to instill that work ethic in the dressing room, and continue to go out there and do what all the West Indies fans want us to do – play a brand of cricket that the World loves to see and be consistent and try to win more matches,” he said.

“We performed more consistently over the last 10 days of Test cricket and this was key to our winning. We didn’t take Bangladesh for granted. In key moments, like the second innings, we did more things better than them.”

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Sammy dismissed suggestions that his side’s job was made a little easier by a lack of application from the Bangladesh batsmen.

“We had to work for most of our wickets and the pitches were really good for batting,” he said.

“We stuck to our plans for most of the time. In the first innings in Dhaka, our bowlers didn’t hit the areas. From the second innings and both innings in this Test, we bowled much better.”

He added: “The Bangladesh, like us, are naturally aggressive. . .but our batsmen were more patient and let the bowlers come to them, not try to go searching for runs. Once you applied yourself on these pitches, you were bound to get runs.

“We have a lot of respect for the Bangladesh players, but we always believed that we could come here, and achieve our goal of winning the two Tests, so we are just happy to have accomplished this.”

(WICB Media Release)