The bitter divisions in Caribbean cricket were laid bare yesterday when the West Indian players, led by an emotional Sammy, hit out at the WICB for not supporting them.
Hours after Sammy gave vent to years of frustration, the Caribbean cricket board issued a statement headlined 'WICB President has high praises for World Twenty20 Organisers'.
"The President would like to however apologise for what could be deemed inappropriate, comments made by the West Indies' male captain, Darren Sammy in a post-match interview and would like to apologise on behalf of the WICB, to the millions of fans who witnessed (sic),
WICB president Dave Cameron had appeared to take offence at Sammy's remarks by tweeting: "When is the last time a critic paid one of your bills? Always remember that when you start to give them your energy."
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In the post-match press conference at the Eden Gardens last night, Sammy, in a reference to the lengthy and bitter pay dispute that had put their World T20 participation in doubt, said his team felt "disrespected by our board".
"We needed silverware in the Caribbean in 2012 and yes nobody gave us a chance back then. This one with all that happened before the tournament the disrespect from journalists and from our own cricket board that was out of order. The only way we could make statement is by winning this tournament," Sammy said.
He further said, "We had a new manager in Rawle Lewis, who has never managed a team before. We had no uniforms, no printing.
"The trouble he went through to just get us in this uniform. I got to give credit to the entire team here."
Sammy also had another swipe at the board as he thanked Grenada Prime Minister Keith Mitchell for a good luck message received hours before the final.