West Indies all-rounder announced his retirement from Test cricket on Friday after he was replaced as captain by wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin. The 30-year-old Sammy, who played in 38 Tests and all but eight of them as skipper, remains the captain of the West Indies Twenty20 team and also intends to continue playing ODI cricket.
“Darren Sammy has formally notified the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) of his decision to retire from Test cricket,” the WICB said in a statement. “Sammy has also informed the board of his decision to continue to make himself available for selection for the other formats of the game.
“Sammy, in his communication to the board thanked the directors, the selectors and team management for the confidence shown in him as a player and captain which he served as from October 2010 to May 2014.” While he is well-liked and a respected figure, Sammy often batted low down the order in Test cricket and his medium-pace bowling was much less effective than in shorter forms of the game.
That raised some critics to question whether the St Lucian merited a place in the team despite generally positive views of his influence as captain. Sammy averaged 21.68 with the bat and made just one Test century, while he took 84 Test wickets at an average of 35.79.
Ramdin, 29, will take charge for June’s three-Test home series against New Zealand. “It is something very special to represent the people of the West Indies and to be named to the lead the Test team and chart the course forward is humbling and extra special,” said the Trinidadian.
“I am taking over from Darren who did a good job while he was at the helm. He is a very humble and hardworking cricketer and during his time at the helm we won six matches and gave his all to the job.
“I am a very calm individual and I will bring that level of calmness to the job and to the team as we look to move forward and build a winning Test team which will make the people of the West Indies proud,” he said.
