Marlon Samuels is a reserved man. You saw that when he reached his century — an innings that would go on to become his highest one-day score — in Kochi. On getting there, in the 45th over of the innings, with a timid front-foot push off Ravindra Jadeja to mid-on followed by a quick single, Samuels stopped at the bowler’s end and switched off. A few seconds passed. The confused crowd weren’t certain whether to cheer or not. Then, almost willing himself to do something he didn’t want to, Samuels turned about in the direction of the West Indies dressing room, took a few half-hearted steps and lethargically raised his bat. The gallery contained all of four team-mates, who remained firmly seated as they returned the gesture with muted applause. What the hell, he must’ve thought. So he shifted his gaze to the skies and let out a Braveheart-esque yell. Even that roar, somehow and as implausible as it may seem, was self-contained in nature. Marlon Samuels is a reserved man. Reserved enough to be dropped from the West Indies team in March this year, not so much for his pair against New Zealand in the Kingston Test but due to, as a story in the Jamaica Observer puts it, ‘the continued decline of the relationship that he has with other members of the squad’. That article, titled ‘Have we seen the last of Mr Marlon Samuels?’, goes on to insinuate that: “We know for sure that Mr Samuels does not share good relations with a majority of the members of the West Indies team, top among them Mr Chris Gayle.” It adds that only two members from his local side Jamaica — Messrs Sheldon Cottrell and Carlton Baugh — can seem to even have conversations with him. The Introvert It all seems to fall perfectly in place with the features written about him by the few reporters who he has allowed himself to interact with. In 2011, during India’s tour of the West Indies, The Indian Express reporter observed that Samuels’s then three best friends were Samson, Simba and Sheeba — a labrador, pitbull and akita respectively. And that happy family lived in a house devoid of furniture and filled with mango trees where the batsman could ‘sit alone and read books forever’. But here’s the question begging to be asked, especially with the Kevin Pietersen saga unfurling simultaneously in England. Is being different (a non-communicative introvert in Samuels’ case, the exact opposite for KP) reason enough to be dropped from a herd game, especially when you are a leading light with the bat? In West Indies’ case, multiple Dwaynes, Darrens and Kierons have co-existed rather peacefully for years without scoring as many one-day centuries as Samuels. Put together, no less. And the tally we’re talking about is a sum total of five. On Wednesday, Samuels took that total to six. And while doing so he continued to be different. While Dwayne Smith, Darren Bravo and Kieron Pollard needlessly handed their wickets away, Samuels put a high price on his. While the others tired to manufacture ridiculous T20 shots, the Jamaican played textbook ODI cricket, repeatedly puncturing a packed offside field with carpet-kissing strokes almost at will. The way he paced his innings too stayed pretty true to the one-day manual. He was cautious early on, ran his singles hard, began loosening his arms before the powerplay overs, freed them when the field restrictions were applied and cashed in big during the death. A few moments, however, stood out more than the rest, mainly due to their flamboyance. In the 31st over of the innings, with his score still in the 30s, Samuels decided to take on Amit Mishra. First ball, he hurried down to the end of Mishra’s rainbow-loop and struck a big pot of gold over long-on. Mishra didn’t mind it so much because the previous time someone (Darren Bravo) had hit him for six, the batsman had holed out trying the very same thing next ball. So Mishra gladly tossed it up once more. And Samuels jumped out as well. Only, he picked long-off this time, where no fielder stood. Three overs later, his feet remained key against Suresh Raina as well as he wheeled himself to the pitch of the ball and scooped it into the sightscreen. It brought up his fifty. The crowd rose. Samuels’ bat didn’t. Fifty runs later as well, things didn’t changed all that much.
