West Indies Cricket Gets a New Leader, But What About the Board?  · Global Voices
Matthew Hunte

There have been big changes of late in West Indies Cricket. The West Indies Cricket Board announced that Dinesh Ramdin was going to replace Darren Sammy as captain of the test team. Sammy quickly expressed his support for the new captain:
Congrats to Ramdin on being name test Captain. God's speed brother as u look to take us forward. Thanks to all for the support.
— Darren Sammy (@darrensammy88) May 9, 2014
He subsequently revealed that he was going to retire from test cricket (Sammy will, however, continue to play the shorter versions of the game and retains his captaincy of the T20 squad, in which two opposing teams each play a single innings with 20 overs). Fans immediately reacted to the news:
Sad to hear that Darren Sammy is retiring from Test cricket.
— Franka Philip (@Trinifood) May 10, 2014
His decision has not come as a complete surprise to many observers, who, while praising the former test captain for his positive attitude, questioned whether he could make the team on merit.
As far as Ramdin was concerned, one Twitter user suggested that the new captain should get a twitter handle that was better suited to his position:
Dinesh Ramdin is now the captain of the WI test team, he really needs to reconsider his twitter account. Shotta?
— Gregg Wallace (@greggle71) May 12, 2014
Others were unenthusiastic about the new appointment:
Lolol murda RT @TARA_CR7 Can't believe they put Ramdin as captain…that was by default right?
— XII.VI.XXII♡Le'Kera♥ (@Shonelleee) May 15, 2014
Much of the online discussion turned to the modus operandi of the West Indies Cricket Board and how the players would have received the news of their new roles. This Twitter user noted that Sammy's fate was better than that of past West Indies captains:
In 2001, Jimmy Adams lost the West Indies captaincy and his Test pick. He was told by a TV reporter.
— Terry Finisterre (@terryfinisterre) May 13, 2014
On Facebook, Christopher Gray believed that Sammy should have seen the signs and resigned earlier:
It [doesn't] matter who is the captain of the west Indies team, the results still going to be the same. But Sammy really should [have] resigned a long time ago because it's very disrespectful how he is getting treated now, he [lost] the [captaincy] for both tests and [one day internationals] and he damn well [knew] it would have happen[ed] eventually.
Wayne Pilgraim-Cadogan applauded Sammy's decision to retire but felt it was long overdue:
Great, you should have told the Board thanks after what they did last year. It was on the cards, that is how the Board operates when they want to get the rid of a player. What do you expect, too much politics involve in the cricket.
He added that T20 cricket now allows players to make a living without depending on the national boards:
Go and play IPL all over the world and ply your trade as a 20/20 player, you are in great demand. Make some money while you can and invest it wisely. At least you will not be like some who were before you and waste it. You have been to the top as a player, many before you did not achieve that goal as captain of the West indies team.
Xav Bagga Williams thought that Sammy made a good contribution but that it was time for a change:
I'm a huge Sammy fan and I always say he wasn't needed for tests, he tried his best and I'm proud but it's time to move on and I'm wishing Ramdin the best…I know he'll do a good job.
Other cricket fans were already focused on the future. Zimron Bibby had high hopes for the new captain and the team going forward:
True talk, Ramdin did fairly well captaining Trinidad and Tobago and is more than capable of captaining the WI team, we need to stop bringing down the WI and start praising them up, selectors have pick[ed] a good training squad that is capable of beating the Kiwis and they [are] gonna pick the best 11 that can do the job.
Jr Cools thanked Sammy for his dedication:
I have enjoy[ed] seeing West Indian players, including Sammy, improve over the years. I wish the WICB would make better use of their players and invest [in] them. We always look at the players first but not at management when it comes to the plight of the team in all formats of the game. What are the other cricketing boards doing right that the WICB has failed to learn to this day? Thanks for your service Sammy.
Finally, Miguel Headley didn't see what all the fuss was about, arguing that test cricket worldwide was not as important as it used to be:
Test Cricket is dead now…Only England vs Australia (The Ashes) get any media hype…The West Indian players don't even care about test cricket themselves.