Daren Sammy's masterplan

Mar 16, 2025

This article presents the views of Steph Jaggasar and does not necessarily reflect the views of Machel, Santokie, or the Caribbean Cricket Podcast. If cuss haffi pass, spare us.

On March 3rd, 2025, incoming Test coach Darren Sammy addressed concerns from the CWI fanbase during an online press conference. One key moment stood out when Machel St. Patrick Hewitt of the Caribbean Cricket Podcast asked Sammy:

“What have you picked up on that has been the disconnect, from a player’s perspective… that has prevented them from maybe playing red-ball cricket more extensively?”

Sammy’s response highlighted the communication deficiencies of the previous administration and selection panel. Notably, he said that there are players who were dropped years ago and still do not fully understand the reasons for their exclusion from the Test side.

He went on to say that he has been laying the foundation as the white-ball coach to restore the trust that players have in the CWI institution, and in doing so, is looking forward to introducing (or in some cases, reintroducing) these primarily white-ball players into the red-ball side.

Let's take a closer look at a few players who are likely to be discussed in this context.

Brandon King: White-Ball to Red-Ball?

It is no secret that CCP has been a fan of the idea of King’s red-ball debut for some time now. As recently as February this year, CCP released a video on the channel, advocating for King’s inclusion in the discussion of red-ball selection.

King is no stranger to representing the region at the international stage. As the WI premier opener in both white-ball formats over the past 5 years, Brandon King has represented the region 107 times across both T20I and ODI cricket, including in a number of world cups.

There are very few players in the region, especially in the modern era, who have demonstrated that level of loyalty to the badge. A significant side effect of that, is that Brandon King has played in almost every major cricketing continent, meaning his experience in different batting conditions, against different bowlers, in different weather is one of the most prolific and diverse in the region. This feeds into a wider point made by coach Sammy, that he will also take the variation of experience of players into consideration.

Moreover, on a technical level, King has demonstrated promising signs for red-ball cricket. His driving shot, for example, is arguably one of the best and most rewarding in the region and, in theory, he should be able to use a mixture of his white-ball and FC experience to play to the situation of the game rather than being bogged down.

This paired with King’s openness about wanting to play Test cricket for the region and his FC average of 35 for the Jamaica Scorpions, build the argument for his inclusion, at the very least, in the selection discussion.

Watch an in-depth analysis of King’s Test potential here:

Pace Attack, the Case for Forde and Shepherd:

In the same conference, Darren Sammy noted that the Test pacers' economy rates are an issue. He states that, when he compared the statistics of the West Indian pace attack to other nation’s, our higher economy prevents us from putting pressure onto the opposing batters.

Questions have arisen about the pace attack. While Jayden Seales has been consistent, the same cannot be said about Shamar Joseph, who, despite having outstanding performances in the Gabba and in Providence, has also struggled against both England and Bangladesh. And unfortunately, the other pacers have not been able to provide much support either.

All of this opens the discussion for Matthew Forde and/or Romario Shephard to be introduced into the Test setup

Matthew Forde, in particular, turned some heads recently when he hit 82 off 91 against Guyana in this year’s West Indies 4-Day Championship. While Forde’s allrounder ability has been known for some time now, the spotlight on his performance this year has been larger, possibly due to the combination of two factors: the desperation fans have towards getting someone into the Test side who can average more than 25, and the fact that he is already an internationally capped player for West Indies in the shorter formats. The culmination of those factors mean that there is eagerness to fill the specific role that Matthew Forde is seemingly putting his hand up for.

Shepherd's case, however, is made through the desire for experimentation. Romario Shephard has been a staple Powerplay and Death bowler for West Indies in the limited-overs formats, although he can suffer from inconsistency. Specifically, it appears as though he struggles with bowling variation in these high-pressure situations. While I am not married to the idea of seeing Romario in white, I do wonder if he would perform more consistently if he is allowed to solely focus on a Test-match line and length.

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Furthermore, although he has not played FC cricket recently, between 2017 and 2020, he played both regionally and as part of an A Series against New Zealand. In that series, Shepherd scored the most runs across both teams, accumulating 232 runs in 4 innings, at an average of 77. In this 3 year period, he was also picking up wickets at an average of 25 a piece.

Perhaps the cherry on top of all of that surrounding Shephard is that he is another player with significant situational experience, having played for West Indies on and off since 2019, in addition to his prolific franchise career, and has explicitly and publicly stated his interest in playing Test cricket.

Both of these players have shown promise with both bat and ball for the region. Their inclusion could buttress either or both the batting and bowling lines if given the chance.

Sherfane Rutherford: The Most Improved Player?

Sherfane Rutherford has been the subject of significant praise recently, not only in the West Indies community but in the cricketing world at large. He is perhaps the most improved player, regionally, and has contributed match winning performances in both the T20I format (namely his innings against New Zealand in the T20WC) and in ODIs.

In 2024, the southpaw played 9 ODI matches against Sri Lanka, England, and Bangladesh and scored 425 runs at an average of 106 with 2 DNBs. In those games, he was dismissed 4 times; once vs SL, once vs England, and twice vs Bangladesh. Is this sample size large enough to say he’ll be a world beater in Test cricket? Absolutely not. What it shows is that Rutherford, particularly under Darren Sammy’s coaching in the past year, has made significant strides in learning how to build an innings, a skill that is seemingly dying out in the light of the Franchise pandemic.

Also, while I personally dislike bringing up a player’s age in these conversations, it would be an injustice not to mention Rutherford is only 26 - almost 27 years old. He is probably the most internationally experienced and developed player under the age of 29 in the region. At the same time, he is young enough to be able to, hopefully, iron out his deficiencies in the game and still have a sizable red-ball career ahead of him.

The Nicholas Pooran/Evin Lewis/Akeal Hosein Conundrum:

Oh boy!

I admit that the likelihood of any of those three names being called into the senior Test side now is, in my opinion, extremely small. However, fans tend to look back at players from a decade or more ago, notice their lack of caps in particular formats and ask themselves “why was that allowed to happen?” or “what if..?”.

Veerasammy Permaul, for instance, has taken the most First Class wickets in West Indies history, yet has only played nine Test matches. Andre Russell has only played one Test in his career despite having a comparable number of First Class games (17) under his belt to Mikyle Louis a year after his senior debut (18).

RahkeemCornwall dominates the region currently but is unlikely to be called up again to the senior side and the list continues.

Nicholas Pooran is arguably the most gifted batter in the region. Evin Lewis is one of the last glimmers of the “GOAT” generation, having been mentored by Chris Gayle. Akeal Hosein has literally topped the T20I bowling charts while bowling in the most unfriendly period of the game for a spinner - the power play. It would be a regional disservice if, 10 years from now, we look back and ask: ‘What if we had figured out selection just a little bit sooner?’.

I am not suggesting they would dominate the format if called up today, but I am saying that, by not giving them the opportunity (especially sooner), and giving them the time to learn and adjust to the format, we have significantly weakened our potential.

Conclusion: A Step Toward Revitalization

Yes, the issues with West Indies cricket include half a century of administrative mismanagement, players declining interest, funding issues, ICC misdoings, etc. Inclusive in that list is also selection own goals. The road to repairing West Indies cricket needs to be built from all angles, and not just simply to address the larger issues.

While the inclusion of these players may not instantly propel West Indies to a World Test Championship, it marks an essential first step toward rebuilding the team.

Kishore Shallow and the administration have made significant headway in repairing the damage caused by previous regimes. These include limiting the power of administrative positions, giving more voice to overlooked nations like St. Lucia and Dominica, and working with coach Sammy to rebuild trust within the region—both from the players and the public. Having a healthy and transparent selection process, one that takes every player into consideration, is a stanchion to this ideal. And that underlines the imperativeness behind this discussion.

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