Bitter row erupts after Windies win World T20 title

The bitter divisions in Caribbean cricket were laid bare Sunday as the West Indies board publicly reprimanded captain Darren Sammy just hours after his team's stunning victory in the World T20 final over England. It should have been a day of unalloyed joy for the West Indies, with the women's team winning their Twenty20 final against Australia on the same Eden Gardens ground where the men later downed England by four wickets in a last-over thriller. But the victory over England at Eden Gardens was marred when a long-running spat between players and the Caribbean board erupted into public. Sammy gave vent to months - possibly years - of frustration with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) in a post match interview. Referring to a lengthy and bitter pay dispute that had put their World Twenty20 participation in doubt, the all-rounder said his team felt "disrespected by our board". "We had a new manager in Rawle Lewis, who has never managed a team before. We had no uniforms, no printing," said Sammy. "The trouble he went through to just get us in this uniform. I got to give credit to the entire team here." Sammy also thanked Grenada Prime Minister Keith Mitchell for a good luck message received hours before the final and then had a swipe at West Indies cricket chiefs. "I'm yet to hear from our own cricket board. That's very disappointing," said the 32-year-old. Several hours later, the board slammed Sammy and apologised for his comments in a statement issued in Antigua and curiously headlined "WICB President has high praises for World Twenty20 Organisers". "The President would like to however apologise for what could be deemed inappropriate, comments made by the West Indies' male captain, Darren Sammy in a post-match interview and would like to apologise on behalf of the WICB, to the millions of fans who witnessed (sic)," said the statement. "The President has pledged to enquire the reason and will have the matter addressed." Brathwaite's barrage turned the game on its head at the end of an unbeaten 54-run stand with man-of-the-match Samuels off just 25 balls. "I can't really express how much of a top knock (by Samuels) that was. We couldn't turn back, it was a question of when not if," said Brathwaite. Recently, the situation has been exacerbated by the rise of lucrative domestic Twenty20 tournaments such as the Indian Premier League, where West Indies players can earn significantly more from appearing in franchise cricket than they can from the international game. Recognising this, the WICB statement, said it wanted to meet with players after the end of this year's IPL in a bid to seek "common ground", with officials adding they would seek help from the International Cricket Council. "We are fully aware of the financial rewards on offer in the lucrative international T20 leagues, but we believe deeply in the importance of cricket to the people of the region and of West Indies cricket's place in world cricket. It is therefore a priority to have all of our players competing and available for selection."