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Renegade Samuels defiantly fights on

Frenemies. Marlon Samuels and Shane Warne have history. (Image via Fox Sports)
Roar Guru
1st January, 2015
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With West Indies cricket on its knees, having abandoned an Indian tour and suffering a humiliating innings defeat to South Africa, the relief of a draw in the second Test was welcome, even if half the match was lost to rain.

It should come as no surprise that the enigmatic Marlon Samuels was instrumental in holding firm for the West Indies.

In truth, it had to be him. Along with 40-year-old Shivnarine Chanderpaul and promising opener Kraigg Brathwaite, Samuels is the only batsman remotely approaching Test class in this stricken line-up.

He drove Imran Tahir emphatically out of the ground and together with Brathwaite set about restoring some battered pride, passing the follow-on mark. Eventually both reached deserved centuries. Runs against Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander in South Africa do not come easily, as the rest of the order experienced.

In June 2014, when Samuels was dropped after a pair and 0-77 against New Zealand in Kingston, I thought time had finally run out. However, for a guy who has now seen it all, and fought back with increasing defiance each time, it was almost inevitable that he would return.

Since he was thrust into the Jimmy Adams’ beleaguered 2000-01 team in Australia as a teenager, I’ve followed Marlon’s eventful journey in and out of the West Indies side. From memory his first ball from Jason Gillespie struck him on the body and raced to the fence. Even the umpire was uncharitable to the tourists, signalling a dead ball. His debut knock of 35 showed off the talent to burn that his output would struggle to match, while with the ball he showed his competitiveness in suckering out Justin Langer and Michael Slater.

The only thing remarkable about his bowling was his surprise quicker ball, subsequently banned for chucking. He still saunters in off a couple of paces and sends down his entirely unexceptional orthodox deliveries with a minimum of effort – daring the batsman to do something stupid. In the field he has never expended excess energy either but with the bat he can match anyone in the world for flair, skill and destruction.

Yet too often over his journey there has been an element of self-destruction. Just when he finally seemed to be finding momentum, Samuels was suspended for two years for alleged links to an Indian bookmaker. Though he was found by the WICB Panel not to have acted “dishonestly or in a corrupt manner” he was considered to have breached the ICC Code of Conduct. Samuels, for his part, has repeatedly claimed his complete innocence from any wrongdoing.

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After the two years that were ‘taken from him’ he returned with more purpose and perspective than before, earning back his place for Jamaica and then West Indies. 2012 saw him strike 866 runs in Tests at 86.60 in typically glorious style. Finally, here was the finished product. He won the 2012 World Twenty20 final for the West Indies from a hopeless position with the most brilliant innings ever in the format, audaciously targeting and taking down Lasith Malinga.

Signed by the Melbourne Renegades in 2012-13, opposition coach Darren Lehmann accused him of chucking, he was involved in an ugly spat with Shane Warne when the leggie hurled the ball at him, and his campaign finally ended when he top edged a Malinga bouncer, smashing his eye socket.

It is somehow appropriate that the Renegades appealed to Samuels. He is his own man. I love the passion and belief he shows on the field when the heat is on. Some have mistaken this as arrogance, probably by players who love to show aggression but are surprised when it is returned in kind.

Suspensions, injuries, inconsistency, accusations of chucking and laziness. By rights he should have disappeared into obscurity up to a decade ago but with surprising resilience, he has kept fighting back.

A generation or so prior, Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards’ teams showed that through cricket, concepts of independence, equality and respect could be enhanced for the people of the West Indies on an international stage.

In the face of a financially crippled board and embarrassing team results, Marlon finds himself at the forefront of a new struggle: to keep West Indies cricket itself alive.

I’ve seen better cricketers, indeed some of the greatest ever, but to me few are quite as compelling as Marlon Samuels – my favourite current day cricketer. Long may he continue to fight for the West Indies.

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