Darren Sammy pacifies protesters on Day 1 of third Test

The peaceful protests held at the Darren Sammy Stadium came to a close when Darren Sammy himself got out of a car just outside the stadium and requested the fans to head in and support the team instead. The protest came in light of those who opposed the West Indies Cricket Board’s decision of sacking Darren Sammy as the T20 skipper of the West Indies. Sammy has guided and led the West Indies to two World T20 titles, something that has seen the Stadium in St. Lucia named after him, immortalizing his name in cricket.

However, a few days back, Sammy released an emotional video message that thwarted the cricketing world into a depression as a clearly disappointed Sammy stated that he had been sacked as the skipper of the West Indies side. The axes of the WICB swayed one more time as Carlos Brathwaite, the hero for the West Indies in the final of the 2016 edition of the World T20 was appointed as the new skipper of the West Indies T20 unit.

The boycott was planned by a few fans seeking vengeance against the WICB for the sacking and had been gaining momentum on social media. But a few stars like musician Mr. Vegas encouraged people to go to stadiums and show their support for Darren Sammy inside by holding up placards. Although there were not an awful lot of fans present with placards outside the gates, it was clear that there was indeed a protest. The police personnel was also present to thwart any threat that appeared.

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Further reports went on to suggest that the St. Lucia police force were on standby and kept a tight vigil on the proceedings, allowing people into the ground only following a strict screening. The fans with placards were not allowed into the stadium due to a rule preventing them from doing so.

Sammy, who was present in person to wish the team luck, met with some of the fans during the lunch interval and urged the fans to ‘not get arrested’ and ‘go support the team’. Sammy’s father was also reportedly part of the protest.

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