"This loss will not dampen our spirits": Daren Sammy on losing to England in Super 8 clash
Jun 20, 2024
Gros Islet [St Lucia], June 20 : Following the loss against England in the Super 8s of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024, West Indies coach Daren Samy said that defeat is a part of the game and this will not make the team unhappy.
With some eye-catching stroke play, Philip Salt and Jonny Bairstow led England to a resounding 8-wicket win over the co-hosts, the West Indies, chasing the target of 181 runs under 18 overs on Wednesday night (local time), and brought the defending champions a step closer to the semi-final spot in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
With their aggressive batting and unorthodox shots, Salt and Bairstow brushed away the threat that the West Indies pacers carried.
The 8-wicket defeat brought an end to the West Indies' 8-match winning streak.
"It's part of the game. This loss will not dampen our spirits. We still believe we've got a team that could win this World Cup, and that's what I'll tell the guys inside when I speak to them: park this game, put it in the garbage. And we move forward to Barbados where we win against the USA, and then we have South Africa in Antigua on Sunday," Sammy said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
The World Cup-winning captain further stated that the English side got the better of the Caribbean and that is the reason we lost the match.
"No-one said it was going to be easy. There are good teams in the tournament. Today, we came up against the defending champions and they got the better of us. But that doesn't mean our tournament is over. Our destiny is in our own hands, and I feel I've got the 15, the group of men, that we believe that this tournament, we could win," the former all-rounder added.
Coming to the game, England put West Indies to bat first after winning the toss. Johnson Charles (38 in 34 balls, with four boundaries and a six), Nicholas Pooran (36 in 32 balls, with four boundaries and a six) and skipper Rovman Powell (36 in 17 balls, with five sixes) played some fine knocks to take WI to 180/4 in their 20 overs.
Adil Rashid, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone and Jofra Archer took a wicket each.
In the run-chase, Salt (87) and Jonny Bairstow (48* in 26 balls, with five fours and two sixes) blew away WI with their hitting, reaching the target with eight wickets and 15 balls in hand.
Salt secured the 'Player of the Match' award.
