There is a breed of international cricketers who are bestowed with immense natural talent and promise to scale big heights in their careers. However, they don’t live up to their full potential due to temperamental issues, lack of work ethic and off-field controversies. Notable among them were Graeme Hick, Carl Hooper and even our very own enigmatic Vinod Kambli. West Indies all-rounder Marlon Samuels certainly belongs to the same league.
Samuels had all the ingredients to become an all-time great but his career has been more of a rollercoaster ride marred by off-field controversies. Samuels is a natural stroke maker who makes batting look effortless with his elegant stroke play. The West Indian has showcased his ability to win matches courtesy his wide repertoire of shots in his arsenal.
Samuels can play the attacking game or switch to a well-organised defence game if the situation demands. Despite his enormous talent, Samuels has underperformed to quite an extent owing to lack of application and mental fortitude to counter the challenges in international cricket.
Samuels has been a decent spinner in the limited over format where he stems the flows of runs in the middle overs by bowling a tight line. The West Indian has been at his best in the T-20 format where he has played career defying knocks to guide the Windies to two ICC World T20 titles.
So let us relive some of the most notable performances of this talented yet maverick like cricketer over his long cricketing career.
5) West Indies Tour of South Africa, 2007
94 and 40 runs in the 1st Test at Port Elizabeth
Marlon Samuels exhibited all his flair and flamboyance with the willow by scoring two classy knocks of 94 and 40 in the first Test in Port Elizabeth against a top quality Proteas pace attack comprising of Makhaya Ntini, Dale Steyn, Andre Nel and Jacques Kallis.
His valuable contributions with the bat especially in the second innings where the wicket wasn’t ideal for batting played a significant role in the Windies victory over the Proteas in their own backyard. Samuels bagged the man of the match for his notable contributions with the willow.
4) India-West Indies ODI Series, 2002
7th ODI – 108 (Not Out) off 75 balls
The 2002 India- West Indies ODI series was a high scoring affair with most of the batsmen on either side plundering runs on flat batting wickets prepared by the Indian curators. The series was level at three games a piece and the final ODI at Vijayawada proved to be the perfect climax to play for the coveted trophy. Marlon Samuels though highly rated but relatively new to the international fold scored a scintillating century to clinch the series for the Windies.
Samuels scored a belligerent 108 off just 75 balls to set the Indians an imposing target of 315. The mammoth total proved to be a herculean task for the Indians to chase down and they eventually were bowled out for 180. His breathtaking century left an impregnable mark of his batting credentials on the international stage.
3) West Indies tour of England, 2012
386 runs in 5 innings with a century and three 50s in the series
Marlon Samuels came back to international cricket in 2010 after a two-year hiatus, post serving his match-fixing ban imposed by the ICC. Cricket pundits had often criticized Samuels for his lack of commitment and below par performance considering the natural flair he possessed to play the game. He for once silenced his critics by leading the run charts for the West Indies against a formidable English pace attack on seamer friendly conditions.
Samuels exhibited a combination of good technique and flamboyant stroke play to amass an impressive 386 runs in 5 innings that included a century and 3 fifties. His staggering knock of 117 in the second test at Nottingham was an exhibition of quality batting on a wicket which offered a lot of swing to the seamers.
Samuels yet again proved his critics wrong by showcasing that he had the pedigree of a test batsman. West Indies won the Wisden trophy and Samuels was declared the man of the series for his consistent batting efforts all through the series.
2) ICC World T20 2016, India
Finals - 85 (Not Out) off 66 balls against England
The Windies once again went in as one of the hot favourites to win the ICC World T20 tournament courtesy their star-studded line-up of destructive stroke players, who were outright match winners in their own merit. The Windies lived up to their expectation by cruising through the group stages and then won a couple of nail bitters in the knockouts.
The all-time classic final against England would always be remembered for Carlos Braithwaite’s last over batting heroics, which saw him belting Ben Stokes and sealing a sensational victory. However, Marlon Samuels again produced a master class knock of 85 off 66 balls in the finals which set the tempo for the brilliant run chase for the Windies. Samuels remained unbeaten till the very end to ensure the Windies crossed the line to seal the trophy.
Marlon’s classy knock was a befitting reply to Australian spin legend Shane Warne who had made glaring remarks in the commentary box about Marlon’s lack of intensity and undesirable fashion of losing his wicket considering his experience in international cricket.
1) ICC World T20 2012, Sri Lanka
Finals - 78 runs off 35 balls against Sri Lanka
The West Indies team played some spectacular cricket all through the ICC T20 showpiece event to be hailed as the deserving champions of the tournament. In the Grand finale against Sri Lanka, the Calypso Kings were in a spot of bother when the Lankan seamers dismissed the in- form and dangerous Chris Gayle and fellow opener Johnson Charles.
The West Indies were surely in a spot of bother, reeling at 15 with the loss of 2 wickets. Samuels fought back bravely by first holding the innings together by stringing a good partnership with Dwayne Bravo and then led a brutal onslaught against the Lankan bowlers by flaying them to all parts of the boundary.
Samuels’ blistering knock of 78 off just 56 deliveries was studded with six sixes and three boundaries. The highlight of his destructive innings was a towering 108 metre six, which was credited to be the longest hit of the tournament.
Marlon’s brilliant knock ensured that Windies posted a competitive total of 138 for the Lankans to chase. Samuels then played a significant role with the ball by scalping a wicket and just conceding 15 runs off his four overs. His stellar all-round performance was instrumental in the Windies lifting the trophy and earned him the Man of the Match award.
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