Samuels says system conspired against him

February 08, 2019
Marlon Samuels
Marlon Samuels
Samuels
Samuels
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Windies all-rounder Marlon Samuels says the two-year ban he received in 2008 for "receiving money, or benefit or other reward that could bring him or the game of cricket into disrepute," was the result of a conspiracy against him by those who do not want to see him excel.

Samuels, the STAR of the Month for February, said that despite these feelings of 'the system being against him,' he did not succumb to it, but fought it.

"I'm the player that comes with a lot of talent and the system wanted to control me, and I refused to be controlled," he told STAR Sports. "Everybody else was being controlled. When dem tell yuh jump, yuh must just ask how high. I use my talent fi fight for me. What I realise is, sitting down and studying the system, the system destroys so many players.

"So I decided to be a different player. Mi decide to do something no player has done before: to come and start do interviews, so mi start train miself and read more and study interviews.

HONEST PERSON

"I'm a very honest person. A lot of people probably can't deal with me because I think you have more people living in the dark than most of the people up front and living in the light. People like to be in the dark and push you up, and say: 'You seh dis and dat,' because they're afraid to say it (themselves) but they won't say it. But for me, I had no issue with it. It never even bothered me, to be honest. Let me tell you why: because I knew I hadn't done anything. I knew that the forces against me were trying to use me as an example.

Despite receiving the ban more than 10 years ago, Samuels maintains his innocence on the issue saying he was not in the position to carry out the act, especially as he was the only player on the team brought up on the charges.

"Check match fixing," he said. "When there's match fixing, it's the captain and four players, or the captain and five players. Me a di first person inna history who is not the captain that match fix (as the allegations suggest). How can I do that? It's impossible. First thing, the captain affi siddung wid di five man dem weh decide seh dem a guh match fix and seh 'You a guh stan up round deh suh; you a guh bowl deh ball yah.'

"Me alone cyaah do dat. Mi is not even di captain. Mi not even know if mi a play. Yuh understand? Mi nuh know if mi a play, suh how me alone can fix a game? That's impossible!"

Samuels said that he was not left emotionally torn by the punishment or what harm it could have done to his reputation. Instead, he said, the incident strengthened his resolve.

"If I had match fixed and got caught, I wouldn't have come back in their sport," he said. "I was so determined because I know what they have done to me is wrong. That is where I get my strength from and my determination. So you know what? I will come back with full force, I will come back a much stronger person and mi still neva bow to di system and mi come back cos dem do mi wrong."

"If I had match fixed and got caught, I wouldn't have come back in their sport."

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