St George’s Grenada – Dwayne Bravo is looking to lead from the front when he takes the West Indies team into battle against Zimbabwe in the opening contest of the three-match One-Day International Series.
Dwayne Bravo will lead West Indies against Zimbabwe. Photo courtesy of windiescricket.com
The match signals the start of the International Home Series 2013 and also marks a return of international cricket to the Grenada National Stadium after four years. First ball on Friday is 9:30 am (8:30 am Jamaica Time).
Bravo said the team’s preparations over the last two days have been good and Windies fans can expect a focused and energised home side when they face the visitors.
“We have focused on what we have to do to win games for West Indies. We have young and exciting players in our team and we are looking forward to these matches. I am happy to be captaining the West Indies team and I see it as an honour to do this job. I will bring the energy and will look to lead from the front and inspire the team to win,” Bravo said.
“We’re calling all the fans in Grenada to come out and enjoy three good matches as we look to play some good cricket and bring some entertainment to our supporters. We enjoy playing for our fans. We haven’t played here for a while so it’s good to be back and everyone is looking forward to what’s in store.”
The livewire allrounder was all smiles as he spoke to members of the local and international media on Thursday afternoon when he unveiled the sparkling series trophy with Zimbabwe skipper Brendan Taylor. The 29-year-old Bravo is now in his 10th year representing West Indies and takes over as ODI skipper in the absence of Darren Sammy.
The Windies last played in the Spice Isle back in 2009 during a Test Series against Bangladesh, and their return is being eagerly anticipated on the island. Newly-elected Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell has also announced a Public Holiday on Friday following Tuesday’s General Elections.
“This is a brand new series for us and we are playing at home. We are coming up against an opposition that is hungry for success and this will be a good series. It is good to be playing in front our home fans, who we know will support us. There is a Public Holiday on Friday and we expect a good turn-out. We just want to do our part, play well, be consistent and come out on top,” Bravo said.
“We have to give respect to the Zimbabwe team. They are a good team. The last time they came here they were leading the ODI series at one stage and we had to fight back to defeat them. We have to remember that. They have some good players in their set-up.”
WEST INDIES SQUAD
Dwayne Bravo (Captain)
Tino Best
Darren Bravo
Jonathan Carter
Johnson Charles
Narsingh Deonarine
Sunil Narine
Veerasammy Permaul
Kieron Pollard
Kieran Powell
Denesh Ramdin
Kemar Roach
Andre Russell
Ramnaresh Sarwan
TOUR SCHEDULE
Fri, Feb 22: 1st One-Day International – Grenada National Stadium, Grenada
Sun, Feb 24: 2nd One-Day International – Grenada National Stadium, Grenada
Tue, Feb 26: 3rd One-Day International – Grenada National Stadium, Grenada
Sat, Mar 2: 1st Twenty20 International – Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua
Sun, Mar 3: 2nd Twenty20 International – Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua
Thu, Mar 7 to Sat, Mar 9: Tour match – Windward Sports Club, Barbados
Tue, Mar 12 to Sat, Mar 16: 1st Test – Kensington Oval, Barbados
Wed, Mar 20 to Sun, Mar 24: 2nd Test – Windsor Park, Dominica