Belief was always strong, says Coley
West Indies Assistant Coach Andre Coley said belief was always strong that the team could overhaul England’s total in the final of the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup in India on Sunday.
Batsman Marlon Samuels hit a fantastic unbeaten knock of 85 runs, while big-hitting all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite launched a jaw-dropping assault on England’s seam bowler Ben Stokes in the final over to lift West Indies to a four-wicket victory with two balls to spare.
Aside from his whirlwind 34 not out from just 10 balls, Brathwaite grabbed 3-23 with his medium pace bowling.
Coley, the former Jamaica wicketkeeper/batsman, said the squad was too packed with power-hitters to be written off, even though they needed all of 19 runs entering the final over.
“The belief was always in the team and it didn’t waver once. If you were following what Darren Sammy, the captain, was saying, it was that there are 15 players capable of winning a game for us,” Coley told the Jamaica Observer on Tuesday.
“Yes, we had a setback early and we lost a few wickets, but we knew once we were able to manage the chase…we would have been able to get it,” added Coley during the reception to welcome the Jamaican members of the West Indies set-up held inside the Pineapple Lounge at the Norman Manley International Airport.
Samuels, fast-bowling teammate Jerome Taylor and the team’s video analyst Dexter Augustus were the other returning Jamaicans greeted by members of team sponsor Digicel, Sport Minister Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, and Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) President Wilford ‘Billy’ Heaven.
West Indies Cricket Board President Whycliffe ‘Dave’ Cameron, who came in on the same flight as the quartet, did not attend the reception.
Samuels, 35, said the senior men’s team was inspired after the women stunned favourites Australia in the curtain-raiser at the venue. He dedicated his team’s win to the people of the Caribbean.
“The victory, we know what it means to the entire Caribbean, to win [in] cricket, [and] to win tournaments. We did it, not for ourselves, but for the entire Caribbean,” he told those at the gathering.
The West Indies U-19s had already won the 50-over World Cup earlier this year.
The West Indies are the only team to have won two T20 world titles after previously lifting the trophy in 2012.
To cap off Tuesday’s homecoming reception, promotional dancers and the players provided Champion dance tips for Minister Grange to the lyrics of the inspiring and infectious song by West Indies player Dwayne Bravo.
