Darren Sammy

Darren Julius Garvey Sammy (born December 20, 1983 in Dugard, Micoud, St. Lucia) is a West Indian cricketer. He is a 6 feet 4 inch right-handed batsman and a fast-medium bowler. 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. Three years later he made his Test debut against England, taking the best bowling figures for a West Indian in his first match since Alf Valentine in 1950. Sammy was appointed West Indies captain in October 2010.

Early career

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 at an average of 11, and took three wickets at an average of 47, with an economy rate of 3.42 runs per over, just fifth best on the team. Other members of that team, which lost to Australia in the semifinal round, 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...
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