The management of the St Lucia Stars have appointed Australian all-rounder Shane Watson as their captain for the remainder of the 2017 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL). Marlon Samuels will be his vice-captain.
Time for leadership change
After six successive defeats in the 2017 season the time is right to make a switch in leadership and incorporate some fresh thinking as the team completes this season and builds for 2018.
Sammy thanked
The Stars management would like to take this opportunity to thank Daren Sammy for his contribution as Captain this season and throughout the last four editions of Hero CPL.
Daren is a St Lucian icon and has been a fantastic servant of both St Lucian and West Indian cricket. The Stars management would like to stress that Daren remains an important part of the St Lucia Stars squad and his performances with both bat and ball will be vital for the rest of the 2017 tournament and in the future.
Jay Pandya, owner of the St Lucia Stars franchise said: “If it were not for Daren, St Lucian cricket would not have the standing it does in world cricket and his ability to lead both on and off the field remains unquestioned. However, after the results that we have seen over the first half of the 2017 Hero CPL a change is needed to freshen things up as we look to win the remaining four fixtures this season.
“I would like to thank Daren for all of his hard work over the years and this season. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship going forward. He is a proud son of St Lucia and we have been delighted to be associated with him.”
Former Australian captain
Shane Watson, 36, is a former Australian professional cricketer and captain. He played as a right-handed batsman and a right-handed fast-medium swing bowler. He debuted in 2002 in a One Day International and retired in 2016 as world No. 1 T20 all-rounder. He is the last player to retire from Australia’s golden era of early 2000s.
Watson holds several records in T20s. He held the world No. 1 position for a record 150 weeks, including a record 120 consecutive weeks (13 October 2011 – 30 January 2014; and 31 January 2016 – 26 August 2016) in T20I all-rounder rankings. He is the only player to win Australian “Player of the Year” award in all formats and won 7 such awards in three formats (3 T20, 3 ODI, 1 Test), which is the most by any player.
