Top 5 Marlon Samuels moments
There is a breed of international cricketers who are bestowed with immense natural talent and promise to scale big heights in their careers. However, they don’t live up to their full potential due to temperamental issues, lack of work ethic and off-field controversies. Notable among them were Graeme Hick, Carl Hooper and even our very own enigmatic Vinod Kambli. West Indies all-rounder Marlon Samuels certainly belongs to the same league.
Samuels had all the ingredients to become an all-time great but his career has been more of a rollercoaster ride marred by off-field controversies. Samuels is a natural stroke maker who makes batting look effortless with his elegant stroke play. The West Indian has showcased his ability to win matches courtesy his wide repertoire of shots in his arsenal.
Samuels can play the attacking game or switch to a well-organised defence game if the situation demands. Despite his enormous talent, Samuels has underperformed to quite an extent owing to lack of application and mental fortitude to counter the challenges in international cricket.
Samuels has been a decent spinner in the limited over format where he stems the flows of runs in the middle overs by bowling a tight line. The West Indian has been at his best in the T-20 format where he has played career defying knocks to guide the Windies to two ICC World T20 titles.
So let us relive some of the most notable performances of this talented yet maverick like cricketer over his long cricketing career.
5) West Indies Tour of South Africa, 2007
94 and 40 runs in the 1st Test at Port Elizabeth
Marlon Samuels exhibited all his flair and flamboyance with the willow by scoring two classy knocks of 94 and 40 in the first Test in Port Elizabeth against a top quality Proteas pace attack comprising of Makhaya Ntini, Dale Steyn, Andre Nel and Jacques Kallis.
His valuable contributions with the bat especially in the second innings where the wicket wasn’t ideal for batting played a significant role in the Windies victory over the Proteas in their own backyard. Samuels bagged the man of the match for his notable contributions with the willow.