Bouncer Rule Was Brought About to Limit West Indies' Success: Darren Sammy

Former West Indies captain Darren Sammy believes the rule limiting the number of bouncers bowled in a cricket match was brought about to limit the success of the Caribbean side.

Referencing the documentary film 'Fire in Babylon' that charts the success of the West Indies team of the 1970s and 1980s, Sammy said that the rule never came about when the likes of Australian pacers Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee were hurting people with their fast bowling.

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“Looking at the Fire in Babylon, looking at when Thomson and Lillee and all these guys were bowling quick and hurting people. Then I watch a black team becoming so dominant and then you see the bouncer rule start to come in and all these things start to come in and I take it, as I understand it, as this is just trying to limit the success of a black team could have," Sammy told Inside Out.

"I might be wrong but that’s how I see it. And the system should not allow that.”

💬 "It has triggered a conversation that needs to be had across the cricketing fraternity."

West Indies all-rounder Daren Sammy expressed his thoughts on why the issue of racism needs to be discussed widely 📽️ pic.twitter.com/QaikzGXsK7

— ICC (@ICC) June 25, 2020

Sammy, who has previously spoken out on facing racism within the sport itself, also talked about the murder of American citizen George Floyd. Floyd was killed after a police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly 9 minutes.

“The kneeling on this guy’s neck brought so many scenarios to me. The symbol itself, I saw it as the people in power suffocating those who are less fortunate.”