CASTRIES, St Lucia (CMC):

St Lucia Zouks captain, Darren Sammy, says temperamental Barbadian fast bowler Tino Best needs to live up to his seniority as a West Indian international following his on-field clash with Pakistani all-rounder Shoaib Malik last week.

The incident happened last Wednesday in Barbados during a Caribbean Premier League match between the Barbados Tridents and the Zouks.

Best was fined 60 per cent of his match fee, while Shoaib has been fined half his match fee for the incident, which occurred during the Tridents innings.

"Tino is a special character. The more I've played with him, the more I grew to understand him and the person he is," Sammy said.

"In any cricket game, you want to play in the true spirit of the game. I hope it gets better because he's not a young man. But he's still integral to our team."

The showdown between Best and Shoaib occurred after Best was put to the sword by Dwayne Smith, who made an unbeaten 110, and the Pakistani right-hander who stroked 49.

Shoaib struck the Barbadian pacer for two successive boundaries in the 15th over of the innings before being bowled, leading to some physical contact between the two players and an exchange of words.

Sammy, also the West Indies T20 captain, says Best still has a lot to offer the regional game.

"Once we control him and use his head a bit more wisely, he's a good asset for us. The cricket is being played on the field. We've spoken to Tino and I see all of you [the media] all pointing towards Tino Best, but there were two guys involved in the incident. It was not just one person," said Sammy.

Darren Sammy