Marlon Samuels

Long before he became one of West Indies cricket's most talented and most talked-about batters, Marlon Samuels was already someone people were talking about as a schoolboy. Stories circulated about how single-mindedly he had set his sights on cricket and dreamed of playing Test cricket. That self-belief was not misplaced. He made his first-class debut for Jamaica in the 1996-97 season and, still only 19, was called up to the senior West Indies squad in 2000.

Comparisons to Viv Richards followed almost immediately, bringing with them expectations that would shape much of what came next in his career. The weight of those comparisons sat heavily on him early on. While his calm temperament served him well under the pressure of international cricket, his career was repeatedly disrupted by dips in form, injuries and controversy. A serious knee injury interrupted his progress in the mid-2000s, but he returned in 2006 and produced enough promising performances to earn his place in the West Indies squad for the 2007 ODI World Cup.

That World Cup campaign, though, was overshadowed by a far more serious problem. In 2007, Samuels was found to have discussed team information over the phone with an Indian bookmaker. He denied any wrongdoing throughout, but an ICC disciplinary process found him guilty in 2008 and handed him a two-year ban. He turned down a recall to the West Indies squad for the 2011 World Cup, choosing instead to rebuild his form and confidence through domestic cricket in Jamaica.

His eventual comeback later that year proved to be the making of him. He enjoyed a superb tour of England in 2012 and later that year became the first West Indies batter to score a Test double century against Bangladesh. His signature moment came soon after at the 2012 World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka. Samuels produced a defiant 78 in the final to win the Player of the Match award and help West Indies clinch the title. Four years later, he did it again, scoring an unbeaten 85 in the 2016 final against England as West Indies lifted the trophy for a second time.

Controversy was never too far from Samuels during his career. His bowling action was reported as suspect on more than one occasion, but he continued to work on it and remodelled his action before being cleared to bowl again.His rivalry with England's Ben Stokes became one of the more noticeable personal battles in international cricket during the mid-2010s, with the two regularly exchanging words on the field and their confrontations adding an extra edge to their encounters.

His clash with Shane Warne during the 2012-13 Big Bash League also made headlines, with tensions escalating when Warne attempted to run Samuels out and threw the ball towards him. Samuels responded by throwing his bat in Warne's direction, with both players later punished for their conduct. Samuels captained the West Indies ODI side for a period and was later recognised as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year and the West Indies Cricket Board's Cricketer of the Year for a stellar 2012 season.

Samuels retired from all forms of cricket in 2020, but his career took one final, unexpected turn three years later. In 2023, the ICC banned Samuels from all cricket for six years over anti-corruption breaches during a T10 league in the UAE. He was found guilty of failing to disclose valuable gifts and hospitality and of failing to cooperate with the subsequent investigation. It brought a strange coda to a career built around both brilliance and controversy. Samuels produced some of the most memorable performances in West Indies cricket, particularly on the biggest stages, while his combative personality and willingness to stand his ground made him one of the more distinctive characters of his generation.