Sammy has to lead from the front – Sir Viv

Legendary West Indies cricketer, Sir Vivian Richards says Captain Darren Sammy is not a bad option to lead the regional side but insists the St. Lucian must improve his personal contribution in order to earn the respect of his teammates.

Sammy has come under heavy criticism since his appointment and Richards says he has the qualities to lead the team but his bat must start to do some talking.

"If he continues along the same trend then we’re going to have arguments about why, why not and all that sort of stuff. I agree that he understands the game and I love what he said about wanting to bring West Indies cricket back to some sort of prominence. But at the end of the day, he himself will have to start making a contribution, so that he can have the trust of the players who he leads," he said.

Richards also believes that senior player like Shivnarine Chanderpaul was harshly treated by the West Indies Cricket Board when he was dropped during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and left out of the recent one-day international series against Pakistan.

"Chanderpaul is no ordinary batsman. When West Indies cricket was at its lowest, there was only one guy who came to the party most of the time and that was Chanderpaul. He was the most consistent and he was in the ratings for quite a number of years because of his performance. If what he say is true, then it’s sad that these things do happen," Richards opined.

The former West Indies captain is in Jamaica promoting the Johnnie Walker "Be A Giant Campaign" under the theme "Be A Giant By Drinking Responsibly" don't drink and drive.