West Indies vs Scotland | Sammy Draws 2016 Parallels Ahead of World Cup Opener

Sammy Relives 2016 as West Indies Begin Another Underdog Journey (West Indies vs Scotland)

On the eve of West Indies T20 World Cup 2026 opener against Scotland, head coach Daren Sammy once again turned a routine press conference into a statement of intent, mixing belief, history, grievance and hope.

Speaking at the Eden Gardens, the same venue where he lifted the 2016 T20 World Cup as a player, Sammy said belief was the starting point. He said they would not be here if they did not believe they could win and that it felt like ten years ago when nobody gave them a chance.

Sammy spoke about the calibre of talent in the dressing room and stressed that execution with ball, bat and in the field would be key. He said if the team executed properly, they would win the tournament.

Execution was the word Sammy returned to repeatedly, including while explaining selection calls during the build-up to the World Cup. That included the decision to pick Johnson Charles and the move to shift Shimron Hetmyer to the No. 3 position.

He said that over the last two years, opportunities were given to players to be the second wicketkeeper to Shai Hope, but no one really grabbed the opportunity. He added that if something happened to Hope, Charles was the direct replacement at the top of the order and also held the gloves.

Sammy acknowledged that some people were unhappy with the decision but said he had never been one to worry about what the public said.

On Hetmyer, Sammy said he had been a massive part of the South Africa series and praised the conversation among team-mates that encouraged him to take the No. 3 spot. He said Hetmyer had spent the last three to four years finishing innings and deserved credit for the responsibility he had shown in recent games.

Sammy said that if Hetmyer continued to bat with that responsibility, he would make the batting stronger and could put his hands up to be the man of the tournament.

Reflecting on West Indies’ T20 journey, Sammy said the team was one of three to have won the title twice and spoke about a period between 2009 and 2016 when they really invented the game.

He said cycles came and pointed to challenges in keeping players, developing players, facilities and systems. He said the team faced a lot of challenges but dreamed of an era where success came because of, and not in spite of, those challenges.

Sammy spoke about the legacy of past generations, mentioning the stories of Sir Viv Richards and how that group dominated for many years. He said the 2016 team never really got the opportunity to pass on knowledge to the current crop.

He said West Indies cricket was inseparable from the history of the game and that cricketers were known better than prime ministers. He added that understanding history and shaping the next generation was an opportunity for the current group.

Looking ahead to Scotland and later Nepal, Sammy said focusing on past defeats would be self-sabotage. He described Scotland as a tricky opponent and said thinking about the past would put the team behind the eight ball.

Sammy said shorter games brought teams closer together and stressed that West Indies could not think of themselves as favourites. He said the team would have to execute a good game of cricket every single time to win.

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