Bravo: I had to put my hands up
West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo said it was "hard work" but he had to "put his hand up" for the team on the second day of the second Test match against South Africa at Sahara Park, Newlands.In a brilliant spell, running into a strong southwesterly breeze blowing into his face, the Trinidad & Tobago medium pacer sent down 24 consecutive overs and took 3 for 46. The team vice captain was called into action after fast bowler Fidel Edwards was forced to leave the field with a left hamstring strain.
"It was hard work out there and it was not easy at all. It is never easy. We all had to give a big effort with the injury to Fidel. I decided I would put my hand up for the team and respond every time the captain called on me," Bravo said. "Running into the wind was a bit difficult and my rhythm wasn't always there, but like the other guys, I just stuck to the task."Writers covering the match lauded Bravo's superb effort.
Tony Cozier, one of the game's leading writers who has covered West Indies cricket for five decades noted: "Dwayne Bravo's spell of exceptional stamina and high-class seam bowling, of the sort that earned Courtney Walsh and Glenn McGrath more than 500 Test wickets, inspired a spirited West Indies fight.
"The force was with West Indies when Bravo's brilliance that extended for 24 successive overs, broken only by the two intervals, accounted for the wickets of Jacques Kallis, one of the game's most immovable objects, Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers".
South African journalist Telford Vice, who covers the game for international newspapers, wire agencies as well as radio observed: "Bravo delivered a master-class of subtlety to excise the heart of South Africa's batting. With his immaculate line and length as well as his ability to extract bounce and find inswing, Bravo was far more than a second choice".
The West Indies lead the three-match series 1-0 following their victory by 128 runs at Sahara Oval, St George's; Port Elizabeth. The third and final Test will be at Sahara Stadium, Kingsmead, Durban on January 10-14.