Dubai, (Samajweekly) Former West Indies leg-spinner Samuel Badree said he felt the team were done and dusted in the 2016 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final against England in Kolkata. He added that he felt they couldn’t get 19 runs off the final over as Marlon Samuels, then batting at 85, was at non-striker’s end and that Carlos Brathwaite was taking strike against Ben Stokes.
“Honestly, I thought we were done and dusted and we were out. I didn’t think we could get 19 runs, especially given the fact Carlos was facing the first ball of the over and Marlon – who was on 85 not out – wasn’t able to get on strike. It was Carlos’s first T20 World Cup, so he wasn’t an established player and although we all knew what he was capable of in the Caribbean, I thought a World Cup final might have got the better of him,” wrote Badree in his column for the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday.
“I’ve been asked the question so many times how I felt going into that final over – knowing we needed 19 off Ben Stokes with Marlon Samuels and Carlos at the crease. If anyone says they were confident we were going to win that game, I would definitely not take that at face value!” added Badree.
With 19 runs required off the final over, Carlos Brathwaite slammed Ben Stokes for four consecutive sixes to take his team over the line and clinch the trophy for the second time. Badree credited Brathwaite for pulling off an astonishing win. “Credit to him, he was able to pull that off but it was only when I saw the first two sixes that I thought we had a chance. When he hit the third one, I knew we’d won and it was an amazing feeling.”
Badree recalled his own performance, revealing that West Indies had set the tone in the final with his dismissal of England opener Jason Roy. “Too much time has elapsed for that final from five years ago to have any real part to play this time round but there will be plenty of memories of it. Of course, everyone remembers those four sixes from Carlos Brathwaite at the very end but less people remember that the second ball of the game really started things for West Indies and set the tone…”
“That was when I got Jason Roy out clean bowled! The first ball I had actually had a huge shout for lbw that was just sliding down the leg side but the second ball was right on target. People don’t always remember that I bowled amazingly in that game – I bowled a maiden, I took two for 16 from my four overs and also got England captain Eoin Morgan out!”
From a personal perspective, Badree was happy to put out a tight performance with the ball. “From a personal standpoint, I certainly rank that as my best performance for the West Indies, especially given the fact it was a World Cup final. To put in a performance like that on the biggest stage was something I will cherish for the rest of my life.”
The 40-year-old had no qualms about his performance being overshadowed by Brathwaite’s ‘Remember the Name’ moment. He terms the day as ‘victory for Caribbean people’ as West Indies had won the women’s T20 World Cup just a few hours before the men’s team clinched the trophy.
“I understand that my performance is rightly overshadowed by the pyrotechnics of Carlos Brathwaite because those four sixes are indelibly etched in our minds in the Caribbean – that is part and parcel of a team sport, sometimes you go unnoticed.”
“But it was such a sweet victory and it was a victory for the people of the Caribbean. Earlier that day, the West Indies had beaten Australia in the final of the ICC Women’s Twenty20 World Cup as well, so we were buoyed by that.”
“Five years later and I think West Indies have as good a chance as any team to win the title again,” signed off Badree.
West Indies will open their defence of the title in Dubai on Saturday against England in a Group 1 match of Super 12, in what will be a rematch of the famous final from 2016.
