We showed that it's not one man show for us: Sammy

“It is not a one-man show for us,” avowed West Indies skipper Darren Sammy as Andre Fletcher filled in the big boots of injured Chris Gayle with a remarkable 84-run knock against Sri Lanka. 

Gayle pulled his hamstring while fielding and did not bat in  West Indies’ chase. Fletcher opened the innings and played a gem of a knock to lead his side to win.

“I hope that he (Gayle) recovers but what we have shown today is that it’s not a one man show. The way Fletcher stepped up in the absence of Gayle showed that we have 15 potential match winners,” Sammy said making the point clear that they are not depended on just Gayle.

“It was good to see the way we bowled. And then the way Fletcher batted was brilliant. I’m happy as a captain. When you select someone and they have immediate impact you are happy,” he said.

Sammy also praised his spinners—Samuel Badree and Suleiman Benn—who gave away just 25 runs in their eight overs.

“The spinners are the ones getting the wickets and keeping down the rate. The way Badree and Benn bowled in the Powerplay was great. Badree kept taking wickets and that helped,” he said.

Man-of-the-match Fletcher said Gayle had inspired him to do well today.

“Chris is my mentor in T20 and before I went in he said I would have a big day so I want to thank him for that confidence,” he said.

Asked if he wants to make the opener’s spot his own, Fletcher said,” I don’t think anyone can take his job.”

“The bowlers did their job and the batsmen had to finish it. Good to have another win. We are all as one, unity and strength. We don’t want to get complacent and will play each game as a final,” he added.

Sri Lanka captian Angelo Mathews wore a dejected look, ruing a few dropped catches.

“We were 20-30 runs short and we were horrible in the field. The middle order let us down. It was really difficult for us today. We wanted 150 somehow but couldn’t do it. We have an inexperienced team compared to 2014 but we are improving day by day,” he said.