Colombo, Sri Lanka – Dwayne Bravo is confident he can rediscover the form which saw him produce one of the best allround displays in the short history of the ICC World T20 tournament. Back in 2009, Bravo took four wickets and made a match-winning half-century as the Windies outplayed India at Lord’s.
Windies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo. Photo: Philip Spooner/windiescricket.com
In that match Bravo had two career-best performances. He bowled first change and took 4-38 – the wickets of Gautam Gambhir, MS Dhoni, and brothers Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan. He returned with the bat to scorch a magical 66 not out off 36 balls, including three sixes which sailed into the crowd. That year the West Indies reached the semi-finals, their best showing in the ICC World T20.
“I would rate that performance as my best in Twenty20 cricket at the international level and it is something that I will remember for some time. I played really well on that day under pressure and set up a good win. I believe I am at that level in my game. I know I have a big part to play in the team during this tournament and I will look to contribute in all departments,” Bravo said.
The West Indies have been drawn in Group B alongside Australia and Ireland and both first round matches will be at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Their opening match will be against the Aussies on Saturday, at 7:30 pm (10 am Eastern Caribbean Time/9 am Jamaica Time). The second match will be against the Irish on Monday, also under lights at 7:30 pm.
“It’s good to come into the tournament and have people show us the kind of respect and admiration to rate us among the top teams. We have come here as a confident team and we believe we can do very well for the people back home,” the experienced 28-year-old said.
“The momentum can change very quickly in this format of the game – one good ball, one good catch, one good shot can bring a complete change in the match. We believe we have a good team with allround balance. We will look to do well in the first round and qualify for the Super Eights and then take it from there.”
Bravo is rated as one of the most dynamic players in world cricket. The latest Twenty20 rankings released by the ICC saw him listed at Number 5 in the Allrounders ladder. The Windies Number 47 made his international debut back in 2004 and has been an integral part of the team since then.
Looking at the conditions, Bravo noted: “The pitches look like they will suit our style of play. We will have to make sure that on game day we are ready for what any team throws at us. The two teams in our group are different in their styles and in the make-up of their teams.
“Ireland have upset a number of teams before and we won’t take them lightly at all. The Australians are well organised and well drilled so we have a good sense of what we have to do to win and advance.”
Full Squad: Darren Sammy (Captain), Dwayne Bravo (Vice Captain), Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin (Wicket-keeper), Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith