Darren Sammy

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.

Daren Julius Garvey Sammy (born 20 December 1983) is a Saint Lucian cricketer who played international cricket for the West Indies.

He is currently serving as the head coach of the West Indies cricket team in limited overs cricket.

On 2 October 2001 Daren Sammy made his List A debut at the age of 17.

Playing in the Red Stripe Bowl for the Northern Windward Islands against Jamaica 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, Shane Shillingford, Lendl Simmons, and Gavin Tonge 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 in Grenada 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 class – just a handful would go on to play senior cricket for West Indies – included Dwayne Smith, Narsingh Deonarine, Carlton Baugh, Daren Powell, and Omari Banks.

On 31 January 2003, Sammy made his first-class debut for the Windward Islands against Barbados in the 2002/03 Carib Beer Cup.

Batting at number seven, he scored no runs before being dismissed by spin bowler Sulieman Benn 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 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.

At the start of the 2003 season in England, Sammy joined the Marylebone Cricket Club (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 Vice Chancellor's XI against England in a warm-up match.

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 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.

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.

He was also a member of the West Indies team that won the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy.

Sammy is the only captain to have won World T20 twice.

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.

Under his captaincy West Indies win the 2012 and 2016 ICC WorldTwenty20.

He is the only captain to win the T20 World Cup twice.

He captained West Indies to the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 victory against Sri Lanka, 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 against England.

On 5 August 2016, Sammy was informed he was being dropped as T20I captain of West Indies.

Sammy captained Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League from 2017 until 2020, when he stepped down due to fitness.

He then agreed to a two-year head coaching contract for Peshawar Zalmi.

In the 2017 Birthday Honours, Sammy was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (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 on 23 March 2020.

He was also awarded honorary Pakistani citizenship by the President of Pakistan Arif Alvi.

In June 2021, Sammy was appointed as a member of the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Board of Directors as an independent non-member director.