THE cricketing world anxiously awaits the return of a classy right-handed batsman named Marlon Nathaniel Samuels.

When he first arrived on the international scene at the turn of the century, the elegant stroke-maker drew almost blasphemous comparisons with former Jamaica and West Indies batting stylist Lawrence Rowe and the ‘Master Blaster’, Sir Vivian Richards.

If those associations sound conflicting, perhaps it’s because Samuels had the capacity to caress deliveries to the boundary with an effortless flick of the wrist, as well as to dispatch deliveries with utter disdain and timing when he was in the proverbial ‘ackee’ of his game.

Oh yes, it’s the same Samuels whose promise was so great that as a 19-year-old with a single first-class match under his belt, he was called up as a replacement in the third Test at Adelaide and made an auspicious debut in a cameo first innings against the mighty Australians during the 2000-2001 series Down Under.

On that occasion, Samuels made only 35, but his composed accumulation of runs epitomised confidence, guts, maturity and poise that not only belied his teenaged years, but also threatened to embarrass his seasoned teammates who up to then were mere target practice against the most combative of rivals this game has ever known.

Of added significance was that the arrogant youngster appeared to be unperturbed at the prospect of facing the world’s best in the form of Glen McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Collin Miller — to the amazement of the Aussie commentators. It got even better when he picked up two wickets with his part-time off-spin.

To many fans who witnessed Samuels’ first Test innings, the game had heralded a new star and it appeared as if the struggling Caribbean side had struck real gold.

Yet Samuels’ big impression simply emanated from a straight bat and the execution of what his coaches at Kingston College would have been preaching during his formative years.

And that’s how it really started for the tall, talented Jamaican who thereafter struggled with injuries and inconsistency, and was never a fixture in a Windies side desperately in need of stability in its batting order.

After racking up a modest Test average of 28.73 from 29 matches including two majestic centuries, and 30.27 from 107 ODIs in an international career that spanned seven years, an underachieving Samuels left the game under a cloud of shame when he was banned for two years by the ICC for associating with an Indian bookmaker.

Samuels’ tragic demise rests both in his unfulfilled potential — for knowledgeable pundits testify that there has never been a more authentic one in regional cricket — as well as the circumstances leading to the decision to ban him.

Puzzlingly, the four-man panel elected by the WICB to decide Samuels’ fate said it found him in violation of the ICC code of conduct, but said he had not acted “dishonestly or in a corrupt manner”, and was “an honest cricketer… who has never betted on cricket matches”.

Former captain Richie Richardson, who voted against Samuels, later rued his decision and subsequently declared that the ICC ban was unfair. But all that is in the past.

On May 9, Samuels will be free to resume his career, and is he raring to go. According to a recent interview, the 29-year-old Jamaican expressed a desire to reclaim the No 4 spot in the West Indies batting line-up, which could then read: Chris Gayle, Adrian Barath, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Samuels, Shiv Chanderpaul, Brendan Nash and Dwayne Bravo — quite formidable on paper.

Happily, during his exile Samuels kept a low profile, out of the public’s gaze, and also kept in wonderful shape in the nets.

My intuition suggests that having had time to reflect, and with the tremendous benefits of hindsight, ‘Sammy’ is now ready to show his true batting genius.

Having been tossed about in the whirlwind of international cricket for close to eight years, the soft-spoken player will return a much calmer and more serious cricketer who is aware of the fickleness of human nature and the essence of time.

Further, he will be cognisant of the opportunities to shape destiny and make his own indelible mark whenever he walks to the crease from here on.

But most of all, the silky batsman will be acutely aware of the fateful slip which denied him the chance to become a millionaire as a ‘sure pick’ in the Stanford XI that netted a whopping US$1 million per man in its winner-take-all Twenty/20 match against England two years ago.

Perhaps destiny did indeed conspire against a talented young cricketer in the past. However, with time still on his side, both he and his many fans are no doubt whispering, ‘Go get ’em, Sammy!’