Daren Sammy defends dropping Obed Mccoy despite loss vs England: ‘We got it right’

West Indies (WI) head coach has defended dropping left-arm seamer Obed McCoy despite their loss against England in their first Super 8 fixture of T20 World Cup 2024. Notably, the team management dropped McCoy to make way for right-arm seamer Romario Shepherd. McCoy was the pick of the bowlers for the West Indies in their last group-stage clash as he picked 3/14 in three overs.

However, the move to drop him didn’t pay dividends as Shepherd ended up leaking 41 runs from two overs and failed to stop the run flow in the England innings. As a result, England chased down the target of 181 in 17.3 overs and won the match by eight wickets.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of the clash against the USA, Sammy defended the management’s decision and said that their entire team is full of match winners and Shepherd was brought into the side for his dual role. The WI head coach admitted that it was tough on Obed but maintained that the management got it right ahead of the clash.

“Look if you notice the 11 combination we’ve had – I mean we could talk about it now in hindsight. But we back the 11. I’ve said it from day one. We have 15 potential match winners. Obed did well. But if you look at what Shepard has done for us over the last years in T20 cricket, what he brings to the team, we fought going against them, especially with the potential lineup England could have, and the dual role that it brings. It was tough on Obed, but in hindsight, we could dissect the game. But I thought as a selection group, we got it right before it actually started,” said Sammy in the pre-match conference.

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West Indies to face USA in a do-or-die clash

Meanwhile, following their massive loss, West Indies are in a do-or-die situation as one more loss could knock them out of the tournament. The Rovman Powell-led side will take on co-hosts USA on Saturday, June 22 at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados. The Monank Patel-led side has been in good form in the tournament so far and will be expected to give tough fight to the West Indies in the upcoming fixture.