It is not long since Marlon Samuels was a poster boy forwhat had gone wrong with West Indies cricket. Last week, he was its redemptivehero, as West Indies won the World Twenty20 by defeating the host, Sri Lanka,by 36 runs in Colombo. The 31-year-old Jamaican batted brilliantly inconditions that were too much for almost every other batsman.
“Samuels was the difference,” said the former Englandcaptain Nasser Hussain, commentating for Sky Sports television. Samuels scored78 runs, more than half of the West Indies total of 137 for 8 from its 20six-ball overs and more than twice as many as the next-highest score,Jayawardene’s 33, in the match. Samuels shifted the momentum with a remarkableassault on Lasith Malinga, the unorthodox round-arm flamethrower, who isconsidered to be one of the toughest bowlers to hit in world cricket. Fivetimes, Samuels struck him for sixes.
Samuels contributed with the ball as well, conceding only 15runs from four overs of deceptively unthreatening spin and taking the wicket ofAjantha Mendis. It made for one of the easiest Man of the Match decisions ofall time, completing an extraordinary year for Samuels. He was famous as awasted talent, a man who played test cricket at 19 but had been in and out ofthe West Indies team for a decade and served a two-year suspension for questionablecontact with an Indian bookmaker. As prodigals go, he takes some beating.
The result maintains the tradition broken only by India’svictory in the World Cup last year that host teams do not win cricket’s globaltournaments, and it also lengthened Sri Lanka’s miserable record in finals. Ithas made it to the final of the last two World Cups and two out of the lastthree World Twenty20s, but lost them all.
It is West Indies’ biggest trophy since 1979 “ when it wonits second World Cup “ and its greatest day since the 1980s and 1990s, when itdominated five-day tests.
