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West Indies skipper Darren Sammy appeared to belie his usual frank attitude when he claimed on Thursday that his team was not bothered by Australian all-rounder James Faulkner’s pre-match assertion that he did not like the Caribbean side. |
The wild celebrations Sammy himself triggered on a crazy Friday night after smashing Faulkner for consecutive sixes to win their highly charged contest painted a truer picture of what the victory meant to the defending World Twenty20 champions.
Sammy dropped his bat and sprinted to meet his team mates invading the pitch. Partner Dwayne Bravo, unbeaten on 27 off 12 balls, tossed his bat into the air, rushed to the boundary and threw his gloves into the crowd.
Fist-pumping and chest-bumping followed before opener Chris Gayle tripped on the sidelines as he rushed onto the field and launched into a “Gangnam Style” dance, like he had after West Indies won the last World Twenty20 final in Sri Lanka.
Australia captain George Bailey ruled out any non-cricketing reasons for the final over showdown, insisting he had asked Faulkner to send down the last six balls purely for his bowling skills at the death.
Sammy would not say if the sight of Faulkner bowling the final over was extra motivation but he could not hide his joy at having settled a score.
“I didn’t care who it was bowling, we just knew we had to get 12 runs but it makes you feel even better when it is the guy who was talking a lot before the game,” said Sammy, whose unbeaten 34 off 13 balls earned him the man-of-the-match award.
“No doubt the win will definitely hurt them, I guess Faulkner would not like us anymore,” Sammy quipped after virtually scuttling Australia’s bid to win the only major tournament that continues to elude them.
FANCY FOOTWORK
The simmering tension between the sides was evident earlier when Glenn Maxwell erupted in an animated celebration after taking a catch in the deep to dismiss the dangerous Gayle for 53.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann played down the hostility Faulkner’s words had sparked, however, and preferred to praise the nifty footwork of the dancing West Indians.
“From my point of view, James probably got to choose his words a little bit better,” Lehmann said, accepting almost the certain end of his team’s campaign.
“But that’s part and parcel of the banter of the game, isn’t it? We are in the entertainment business and if I could dance like Chris Gayle, I’d be dancing every night.”
“End of the day, you’re going to get emotional with winning and we’ve certainly been through those stages. We are respectful of that... That’s certainly not what we do but they certainly dance very well.”
Sammy was not sure if his team would stick to the same fancy footwork if they managed to defend the title.
“The DJ was playing “Gangnam Style” and so I guess Chris, who is the leader of the dance crew you know...,” he added.
“Probably he’s saving something for later on. We are just happy. When we play like that with flair and passion, it’s not pre-planned. Just comes out in celebration. It feels good to beat the Australians.”