His entry into that elusive galaxy has been delayed through injuries and undisclosed personal problems, a combination that caused him to miss two Test series and 19 ODIs following Waugh's prediction. The disruptions created doubt and inconsistency, a setback for the richly talented left-hander whose record in his first 12 Tests identically matched that of his cousin, physical double and exemplar, the inimitable Brian Lara (941 runs, average 47.05).
It clearly informed Waugh's bold opinion, which gained credibility as Bravo's average jumped to over 50. Then suddenly it went into decline as Bravo grappled with his various difficulties, dipping to its present 41.5; the unreasonable tag of the "new Lara" soon vanished.
At this pivotal point in his career, he has been left a formidable challenge by the retirement from international cricket of another left-hander, the diametrically contrasting, seemingly indestructible Shivnarine Chanderpaul. After a remarkable span of 21 years, 164 Tests, 268 ODIs and a combined 41 hundreds habitually shoring up the batting of a progressively weakening West Indies team, Chanderpaul has reluctantly taken his leave, aged 41.
Two weeks ago, this column wondered if West Indies selectors Clive Lloyd, Courtney Walsh, Eldine Baptiste and Courtney Browne still had testicular fortitudes and true perspectives enough to select a team capable of winning men’s ICC WT-20 2016. Thankfully, the selectors still do! To have sent any WI team to that exciting competition without the recently-selected usual suspects would have been like committing suicide by shooting yourself just after you had also drunk poison; a dead certainty that WI would not have only lost but might have embarrassed us in India too. Almost all of those selected have, somewhere in the world, even in the Caribbean last week, been playing much, except for those who were injured; out self-medicating an arm or a leg. So here is a real chance for players like much improved Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons and Dwayne Bravo to show real mettle for WI and to put their on-field performances ahead of any vocals. But Darren Sammy’s men will still have to work diligently hard to qualify for the final on April 03, to try to win that competition a second time. Since WI’s selectors have bitten the bullet, after that recent shellacking in Australia, and selected a plausible team, WI stands a good chance.
Shamar Springer’s century and Gidron Pope’s excellent all-round performance helped West Indies Under-19 seal a massive 262-run win over Fiji Under-19 in an ICC Under-19 World Cup 2016 Group C match at MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong on Sunday (January 31).
Pope and Tevin Imlach, the West Indies openers, got their side off to a rollicking start, carving into the inexperienced Fiji bowling attack with relish. The two scored at more than a run-a-ball, Pope the more dominant of the two, as they had a 120-run partnership before Imlach fell to Cakacaka Tikoisuva, the right-arm pacer, for a 40-ball 36.
Imlach’s wicket prompted a mini-collapse for West Indies, as it lost their next three wickets for the addition of just 20 runs.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) — Several West Indies stars are likely to be overlooked for the Tri-Nation tournament in June with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) reiterating Thursday that only players who participated in the Regional Super50 earlier this month would be eligible for selection.
Left-handed opener Chris Gayle, all-rounders Andre Russell and Darren Sammy, along with batsman Lendl Simmons all missed the Regional Super50, which wrapped up last week, due to their commitments in the Australian Big Bash.
All four players were part of the West Indies campaign at last year’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
WICB chief executive Michael Muirhead said only the “best available eligible players will be selected” for upcoming series.
“What do you think will happen when some of the best players in the world go against each other? You will have one of the best cricket matches ever seen,” Sammy said speaking at a Press Conference yesterday, hosted by organisers of the event, 007 and Legacy Promotions. Guyana’s Ramnaresh Sarwan will captain the Legacy All-Stars that also features the world’s most feared T20 batsman Gayle, Rajendra Chandrika, Fletcher, Narsingh Deonarine, Jonathon Foo, Nicholas Pooran, Evin Lewis, Devendra Bishoo, Sulieman Benn, Assad Fudadin, Robin Bacchus, Gajanand Singh, Royston Crandon and Bravo.
Attorney-at-Law James Bond’s 007 Warriors will be piloted by Chris Barnwell and will have West Indies Test team skipper Jason Holder along with Dwayne Smith, Simmons, Anthony Bramble, Shemroy Barrington, Sammy, Steven Jacobs, Sherfane Rutherford, Reyad Emrit, Veerasammy Permaul, Ronsford Beaton, Samuel Badree and Gudakesh Motie. That match gets underway at 19:00hrs.
