Sammy embodied the alternative to individualism and nationlessness

Sammy embodied the alternative to individualism and nationlessness. He represented hope for a shift away from recolonization. He was not going to turn his back on the people who still held out home for the glory days. Like Worrell, Lloyd and Richards, Sammy was not appointed captain because of his cricketing skills, but rather because he was perceived to have the leadership qualities that were needed to meet the larger challenges of the moment.
But unlike the others, his was not the task of leading a charge that gave voice and meaning to the larger quest for self-expression and freedom. Rather, he had the uphill task of leading a charge to halt the slide of West Indies cricket into oblivion.  And, critically, unlike the others he did not have enough troops to fight the battle.

That's true in a way. Sammy was an ideal that failed. The goal, under Sammy, was a unified team of young, humble, all rounders. But that didn't happen. The old guard came back (Gayle, Shiv, Samuels, Sars periodically), the idea of all rounders failed, the Bravos turned out to be hacks, the new youths (Powell et all) turned out to be incompetent, the primadona mentality came back and the bowling cupboards proved to be bare.

None of this was Sammy's fault.

Only recently we've stumbled upon some decent spinners, some decent pacers, and some decent young batsmen.