Gayle sacked, Sammy new captain of West Indies
By ANIMonday, October 18, 2010
WELLINGTON - Chris Gayle has been sacked as West Indies skipper and will be replaced by all-rounder Darren Sammy, who has been tasked to strengthen the cricket team once feared by their opponents.
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) decided to change the leadership after the team slid to seventh in the test rankings and eighth in the one-day standings.
“Chris Gayle led the West Indies during a challenging period and the board thanks him for stepping up then,” WICB chief executive Ernest Hilaire said in a statement.
“But it is now time to pass the mantle on as the West Indies rebuilds,” Stuff.co.nz quoted him, as saying.
Selection committee chairman Clyde Butts added: “We are at the dawn of a new era in West Indies cricket and we have entrusted the challenging job of captaincy to Darren Sammy because it is believed that he has demonstrated the attributes of a leader of this diverse group of men.”
The 26-year-old Sammy has played eight tests, 43 one-dayers and 19 Twenty20 internationals.
Sammy’s first task will be to lead the side during a six-week tour of Sri Lanka, which begins on November 15.
“Being appointed West Indies captain is an honour and distinction which I will treat with the highest regard and dignity,” Sammy, who hails from St Lucia, said. (ANI)
