Quote:A teen-aged Samuels made his debut during the West Indies' 2000-01 tour of Australia. He impressed. Not only did he show he was capable of making runs against high-quality bowling, he displayed a degree of poise and class that belied his tender years and very limited experience. Noticeably, he didn't cower in the face of the verbal onslaught that batsmen frequently face while tackling the Australians. Those first outings at the international level, seemed to foretell, as Mr. Henry hinted, a decidedly successful career.

The fact that it didn't quite turn out that way must have been disappointing for the West Indies cricket authorities, the many fans who expected great things from the right-hander, and to the batsman himself. He played a number of match-winning innings, enchanted many a gathering with the fluidity of his strokeplay, yet nobody would disagree that his production levels never remained consistently high enough for him to be numbered amongst the many legends of West Indies cricket.

His demeanour at the crease is the same whether he is two or 200, whether his side is 30 for 5 or 300 for 2. No matter the circumstance he gives the impression of total tranquillity, that he is in complete control and there is little to fear.