CASTRIES, St Lucia, (CMC) - St Lucian all-rounder Darren Sammy was speechless when he got a call about midday at Lord’s in England on
Thursday, informing him that he was selected to tour England with West Indies for next month’s three-nation One-Day International series.
Sammy is the only uncapped player in the 15-member squad for the series with England and New Zealand and is one of 11 members of the squad aged 25 or under.
“I was heading towards a shop on the ground when I got a call from someone from the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) telling me that I was selected for the tour,” the 20-year-old told CMC Sports in a telephone link-up from London late on Friday.
An elated Sammy added: “I was speechless for about two minutes or so.
He asked me, ‘Are you OK, Sammy?’ I just couldn’t believe it.
“I can’t believe my dream has come true. I started running all over Lord’s and hugged everybody.”
Sammy, St Lucia’s Sportsman-of-the-Year 2003, is on attachment with the Marylebone Cricket Club that calls Lord’s home and was at the time watching the ongoing Test between England and New Zealand there.
He believes that his performances in regional cricket over the last two years helped his advance to becoming the first St Lucian selected to a senior West Indies team.
“The last two seasons were good for me and I got great support from people wherever I went in the region,” he said.
“I am very honoured and it is a very good feeling for me right now. The hard work is now starting, being at the top of international cricket. I have been working hard and St Lucians can expect me to do my best whenever I am selected.”
A right-handed batsman and medium-paced bowler, Sammy was a member of
The Young West Indies side that reached the final of the ICC Youth World Cup New Zealand in 2002 and spent last season playing for MCC with whom he toured Sri Lanka.
Sammy, who was the fourth highest scorer for Windward Islands with 261 runs at 26.10 in the Carib Beer 2004 Series in which his 22 wickets were the 10th highest in the Championship, also played for Barnes CC in the Middlesex Premier League in Britain last season.