KOLKATA–The West Indies team was determined to win a second World T20 title after criticism by the media and its own cricket board ahead of the tournament, captain Darren Sammy said yesterday.Amid a lingering pay dispute, the West Indies Cricket Board had said it was considering sending a second-string team if the players did not agree to its terms.
"All that happened before the tournament, the disrespect from journalists, from our own cricket board, that was out of order," Sammy said after West Indies beat England by six wickets in the final at Eden Gardens.
"The only way we could make a statement was by winning this tournament. The hunger for success and victory was there in all of us."
Sammy also blasted a media report which claimed his players did not have enough "brains" to win at the top level.
"The so-called experts, commentators, journalists did not give us a chance. One said we play with no brains. That really brought us together with the contract issues," Sammy said.
"At one point, we were wondering if we would be part of this tournament. A lot of things were happening. To come out and play this sort of cricket in front of passionate fans was amazing."
West Indies became the first team to clinch the World Twenty20 title twice, having also won it in 2012.Marlon Samuels struck an unbeaten 85 and Carlos Brathwaite 34 not out, including four straight sixes in the last over to seal victory with two balls to spare.Sammy said his team had taken inspiration from the success of other West Indies teams.
"This means a lot not only for us as a team but for our fans all over the world. We started the tournament by saying we were inspired by our under-19 boys (winning the World Cup) in Bangladesh (in February) and this afternoon the way our women played to win the (WT20) cup, we had to go out and win it," he said.
Sammy hoped the T20 success would trigger better performances in test cricket as well.
"We get a lot of stick because of the way we play test cricket. T20 is a totally different format. We are very good in T20 cricket," he said.
"We don't play the brand of cricket that can win us tests but I hope this win can inspire our test players to do better."
Carlos Brathwaite struck four straight sixes in the last over to seal the dramatic four-wicket win for West Indies. West Indies needed 19 runs in the 20th over, which Brathwaite (34 not out) provided in style by smashing Ben Stokes for sixes off the first four balls.
Speaking about the win, Sammy said, "It's something we'll cherish for a long time. Every game somebody stepped up. It was good to see Carlos play like that in his debut World Cup. It shows the T20 depth we have in the Caribbean."
World T20 Hall of Fame
2007: India def. Pakistan by 5 runs, Johannesburg
2009: Pakistan def. Sri Lanka by 8 wickets, London
2010: England def. Australia by 7 wickets, Bridgetown
2012: West Indies def. Sri Lanka by 36 runs, Colombo
2014: Sri Lanka def. India by 6 wickets, Dhaka
2016: West Indies def. England by 4 wickets, Kolkata
