"I questioned whether I wanted to play again; Shoaib Akhtar did that to me" - Daren Sammy relives pacer's bouncer to Brian Lara
Former West Indian captain Daren Sammy has recalled Shoaib Akhtar's nasty bouncer to Brian Lara in the 2004 Champions Trophy. Sammy said watching the delivery pummel the West Indian legend to the floor shook him to the core and even made him reconsider cricket as a career.
Daren Sammy, who is now a coach with the Peshawar Zalmi franchise, was just 19-years-old when he witnessed the delivery. The ball was bowled at 148.2 kph and hit Lara flush on the neck. Lara tumbled immediately and looked in immense pain but was, fortunately, able to walk back to the pavilion after some treatment.
Speaking to a Pakistani news outlet on Monday, Daren Sammy narrated his initial reaction to the incident and how he shared it with teammate Dwayne Bravo.
"When I made my debut for the West Indies in the Champions Trophy, I remember Pakistan playing West Indies at the Rose Bowl in Hampshire and they were opening with Mohammad Sami, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar. I saw Shoaib Akhtar bowling a bouncer to Brian Lara and hit him in the head. Brian Lara fell back probably almost unconscious. I was sitting and I was 19 years old next to Dwayne Bravo. I literally questioned whether I wanted to play cricket again. Shoaib Akhtar did that to me,” asserted Sammy.
Akhtar was the first to reach out to Lara after he fell to the ground. The express pacer has often said that the ball fell inches short of affecting a lethal injury to the then West Indian captain.
"It was a joy to watch the Rawalpindi Express" - Daren Sammy
Using Akhtar's popular pseudonym, the Rawalpindi Express, Daren Sammy raved that it was a 'joy to watch' the pacer go about his business.
“I met him four days ago in Islamabad and I gave him that story. He said ‘Brian clipped him for four on the first ball’ and I guess that was his response. It was a joy to watch the Rawalpindi Express coming down with his hair flying," said Sammy.
Daren Sammy has retired from Test cricket but continues to feature in domestic leagues in the West Indies. The two-time T20 World Cup-winning all-rounder played over 200 internationals for his country, collecting a total of 3781 runs and 209 wickets.