NORTH SOUND, Antigua, CMC – For different reasons, Leon Johnson and Darren Sammy, the star performers on the opening day of the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament, said they were glad to play a part in their sides securing victory.
Sammy, the Windward Islands captain, scored 41 and claimed a wicket to earn the Man-of-the-Match award to lead his side to a stunning, 11-run, upset victory over reigning champions Trinidad & Tobago in the tournament opener at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.
Later, Johnson earned the Man-of-the-Match award, following an unbeaten 37 that steered Guyana to a five-wicket victory over Leeward Islands.
The victory for Guyana was monumental, after their participation in the tournament seemed under threat.
“Everyone is aware that we faced some challenges before we came to the tournament, but as a team, we are focussed on the job of playing cricket for Guyana and winning this tournament for the people of Guyana,” said Johnson.
He added: “It feels really great to win a match for Guyana and give us such a good start in the tournament. It is always good to get a chance to play for Guyana and as this was my first T20 match for country I felt really pleased that I could play so well and do the job.
“I was out of the team for some time and I was really happy with the faith the selectors and the coaching staff put in me.”
Sammy, the current West Indies captain, was glad to be at the helm of a winning side again, after a tough past three months on the road with the regional side.
He was pleased with the all-round effort his side portrayed against the highly-fancied T&T.
“When we went to bat we were looking for 150 at the start, but during the innings, we realised the ball was not coming onto the bat and we felt it was a ‘130 pitch’,” he said.
“We aimed to get to that target and knew we could make life difficult for Trinidad from that point. The entire team did well and we are happy to start with a win.”
He said: “I was especially pleased with the way our spinners bowled. Garey [Mathurin] gave us an early wicket and maintained the pressure throughout the innings.
“Shane [Shillingford] was excellent on his comeback to T20 cricket and they showed the benefits and experience of having played at the international level.”
Off-spinner Shillingford grabbed three wickets for 21 runs from four overs and left-arm spinner Mathurin bowled impressively to snare two for 11 from four overs, as T&T failed to successfully chase 130 for victory.