West Indies start off Tri-Nation Series on a winning note

At the Media Launch of the Celkon Mobile Cup Tri-Nation Series last Thursday, West Indies’ Dwayne Bravo said that his aim as ODI captain is to create a winning culture. Chris Gayle’s century on Friday at Sabina Park in the first match of the series is one small step on the road to what Bravo no doubt hopes will be a successful stint as ODI captain.

With West Indies chasing 209 for victory, Gayle struck his third century at Sabina Park – the most of his 21 tons at any one ground – on a day which forecasters had suggested would see some rain. While the weather stayed hazy and humid for most of the day’s play, the only rain came from Gayle’s bat in the form of runs.

At the post-match press conference, apart from Gayle’s century, Bravo spoke of the main highlights of the match. "We had a, I will not say a perfect game, but when we won the toss, as a group we got together and said we wanted to bowl first. They got a decent start but I had it in the back of my mind that once we picked up wickets, it was going to stall the momentum of the Sri Lankan team," he told journalists.

Of Friday’s bowling performance Bravo said "Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Sunil Naraine, they set the tone for us. Every time I called on Rampaul, Roach, and I can’t forget Darren Sammy who bowled 10 overs, I think that killed the momentum of the innings." The humid weather conditions had resulted in the West Indies captain mixing up the bowlers and bowling them in short spells.

The bowling performance of the West Indies team is often criticized for not being able to close out innings. Today, Bravo was pleased. "We finished off well, we bowled them out and 208 was a fantastic effort by the bowlers. Noting that two of Sri Lanka’s best batsmen batted at the top of the innings, they were the team’s target.

"They [Jayawardene and Sangakkara] both bat very close. We know their lower order and middle order is not as experienced, so if we could expose them as quickly as possible, we are going to keep continue picking up wickets. That was the game plan," the West Indies ODI captain said. Earlier this year in the series versus Zimbabwe, Bravo affirmed that his priority is always going to be to take wickets.

Looking ahead to Sunday’s match against recent Champions Trophy winners India, Bravo is hoping to use the confidence from Friday’s victory to win that game. When asked what he thought needed changing, he responded "we don’t have to change much. This has been going for us very well - the self-belief. Once we can start winning some more matches our confidence is going to keep rising." Coincidentally, at last Thursday’s Media Launch, India’s captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni also spoke about the role which self-belief played in them being the current ODI world champions and Champions Trophy winners.

Not overstating the advantage his playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) might have, Bravo did acknowledge that sharing the dressing room with the Indians would have given him an insight into how the players think and how they play. "It [the IPL] has done a good thing for us as players. We have an idea of their strengths and weaknesses but we still have to go out and execute our game plan," he explained.

When asked if a win on Sunday against India would prove that the West Indies are the best in this format, the West Indies ODI captain very matter-of-factly and firmly responded "No. West Indies is not the best. We are Number 8. India is Number 1. There is a process. One game does not say we are the best. Even if we beat India on Sunday, even if we win the Tri-Nation series, it still will not take us to being the Number1 team. There is a process."

He agreed that winning would always help the team, him as Captain and all the players individually to believe that they can win cricket matches in this format of the game. Then he went on to say this: "Our aim is to go up. My job as Captain is to try and encourage the guys to go up rather than keep going down. Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves."

All Dwayne Bravo can promise is that the West Indies players are going to try pressing forward as a team. "I always tell the guys it is always important for us to start on a winning note." He is ready for the challenge of Sunday’s match and said "[There’s] nothing better than to play against the best. We are going to give 100% and try to win it in the end. Sunday is going to be a cracker of a game."