Daren Sammy, the former West Indies captain, feels that the Black Lives Matter movement acted as an added motivator for West Indies to win the Southampton Test against England.
The Jason Holder-led side took a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series with a four-wicket win at the Ageas Bowl, chasing down 200 on a day five Southampton pitch. The match, the first Test of the summer, signalled the return of mainstream international cricket after four months.
During a rain break on the first day of the Test, commentator Michael Holding had captured the attention of the public through a moving speech on the importance of the campaign, and the need to educate the masses on the subject of racism.
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“When you have a movement for black lives, and you have a black team come to England – with everything that’s going on – that creates extra motivation,” Sammy said on Sky Sports’ The Cricket Debate. “You heard Jason Holder say that listening to Mikey [Holding], he felt it in his veins.”
Sammy, who has been vocal in his stance against racism, spoke about the importance of taking a stand within the cricket community in an interview with Wisden last month. The all-rounder, who led West Indies to the T20 World Cup title in 2012 and 2016, felt that the backdrop of the movement gave Holder’s men “extra motivation” to record their first win of the World Test Championship.
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“And the decision to come over to England and play – there is something special about playing in England that sees West Indians want to rise, and get extra motivated.”
“The whole scenario of this Test match,” Sammy said, “the significance of cricket being back, what it meant to see a black team on TV after this time where sport has not been played, that provided extra motivation for the West Indies.”
