Dropped from West Indies T20I squad, Darren Sammy has his supporters

Another one read, :”Bravo, Bravo Sammy, you’re still out captain.” A more capricious one read, “Sack the useless Cameron. He’ll kill West Indies cricket. He’s a #@!@@%,”. Some of the words were unprintable.

All of them had purchased tickets and wanted to enter the stadium, but were denied access by the policemen. But that didn’t discourage them from setting up their base camp inside a vacant water-stall near the western ticket booth.

They were unarmed and mostly peaceful, until a shining blue SUV stopped by them. The man on the wheels winded down the glasses of his window and the crowd suddenly went delirious, almost trying to break into the vehicle, alacritously trying to summon his notice. “What’s this guys? Did I tell you to protest for me? Stop this guys,” implored Sammy, thronged by a group of protesters, cameramen and a few curious passers-by. As he went to park his car by the side, the protesters amped up their decibels.

Sammy, shrugging his head and smiling that beatific smile, soon addressed the gathering near the shamiana with the diplomatic tact of a nuanced politician. “I understand your passion and appreciate your love for me. But guys let’s be peaceful. Don’t make it a scene It’s up to selectors to pick or drop me. Let’s not get into that. I’m here to see my boys play. Whether I’m in the team or not, I always want to cheer for my team. As you are all my friends, I expect this from you too. Let’s make St Lucia proud and cheer for West Indies,” he said, his words drowning in the applause that followed.

Soon the protesters not only mellowed down, but also turned fans, dropping their banners and other paraphernalia and posing for selfies and photo-ops with him. As Sammy walked into the stadium, they reassembled in their cordon, and continued shouting slogans with a refreshed energy.

The 70-odd group were not merely from Gros Islet or its neighboring Castries, the country’s capital. “We have assembled from every part of the country, from his parish Micould, Dennery and Soufriere. We are not an organisation as such and became friends through Facebook and Twitter. We were all pretty angry at the selectors dropping Sammy and so we thought organise a protest and suddenly made a plan. We don’t want to stop or boycott the Test match, but want to show how much we love him. The entire country is behind him, and we expect better transparency from the selectors,” explained Etchek Albert, the chief organiser of the protest.

Undaunted by the piercing sun, they kept on shouting till lunch. Albert says they will be a permanent fixture throughout the Test. Until Sammy, and his countrymen, are served justice, he asserts.