Dear Editor,
Marlon Samuels was not one of the handful of popular contemporary West Indian cricketers. In fact many fans disliked him for a variety of reasons, some of which were of his own making, others of which were based simply on the way in which he carried himself. Many fans and commentators thought he was more talented than his record reveals. One of the most perceptive observers, Brian Lara, described him as a very talented batsman with a bad knee. I loved to see him bat, and was convinced from careful observation that his bad knee never healed completely, and that, coupled with his later eye injury this made him a candidate for more psychological help than the average cricketer.
Samuels was so disliked by some fans that they accused him of deliberately running out Lara in circumstances in which Samuels had everything to lose and nothing to gain from such an unusual and dastardly act; and when he had his troubles with the ICC, those who disliked him most intensely persisted in misrepresenting that he was convicted of the offence for which those who judged him went out of their way to say he did not commit..
When I learnt that immediately following Samuel`s second MVP selection in the last T20 world cup, former Australian fast bowler-turned-broadcaster Geoff Lawson, who knew virtually nothing about Samuel`s life outside cricket, had accused him publicly of gang connections, I hoped that Samuels would sue him, and that the WICB would support Samuels. There was nothing other than Samuels’ imagined low social status and his tough talk that would have led Lawson to so categorise Samuels. No Jamaican who knew Samuels would have identified him with gangsterism.
It was therefore very good news to learn that Lawson has got his comeuppance; that he has been made to apologize publicly, and to pay damages and costs to Marlon. I hope the WICB had actively supported the West Indian. Lawson should be ashamed of himself, and should not be allowed to commentate on any games in which the West Indies are involved.
I hope West Indian media would spread the good news.
Yours faithfully,
Romain Pitt
