WICB vice president stands by Sammy criticism

West Indies Cricket Board vice president Emmanuel Nanthan described Darren Sammy’s tirade as “irrelevant, demeaning and insulting.”.

The vice president of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has stood by his criticism of Darren Sammy over the Windies captain’s outburst following the World Twenty20 triumph in India.

Sammy slammed the WICB in his post-match interview after the Windies beat England in a dramatic final at Eden Gardens on Sunday, saying the players felt “disrespected” by their own board.

WICB vice president Emmanuel Nanthan described captain Sammy’s comments as “totally irrelevant, demeaning and insulting to the Caribbean people.”

And Nanthan has not changed his stance, saying he was merely setting the record straight. “Facts are facts and facts sometimes are stubborn things, so I just put things in place as they were,” he said.

“I said, basically, the question of uniforms [complaints about the correct kit not being provided] were really a non-issue because they were ordered by the board to be delivered at a certain time which the company did because they met the contractual arrangements.

“They did not put the numbers on the uniform because we didn’t know which players were going to play.

“This is a time for Caribbean people to celebrate and we shouldn’t be washing our linen in front of the whole world. And besides, it’s an ICC event and at a time when our sponsors are getting maximum benefit for their sponsorship, we shouldn’t be dirtying it in anyway.”

Nanthan stressed that he has no issue with Sammy following his tirade.

He added: “Darren Sammy, to me, we’ve always had a father and son relationship. I met Darren Sammy when he was a reserve, at 15 years old, for the Windwards youth team.

“He wasn’t on the team and I, as manager, insisted that he should be on the team and as a matter of a fact, 15 years ago or maybe a little more, I went against the selectors and the president of the Windward board and said, ‘I am the manager here and Darren Sammy is the man we should bring on board’.

“We have had a very close relationship so I wasn’t criticising Darren Sammy. I was trying to put some facts straight so we could move forward. I am not vexed with Sammy or the players at all.”