Dwayne Bravo: A passionate, energetic cricketer who was about team

A SLOWER ball that could deceive the best international batsman in the world, jaw-dropping catches and run outs in the field and dancing after grabbing a wicket that will leave everyone with a smile on their face. These are the moments you think about when you hear the name Dwayne Bravo.

Bravo’s illustrious West Indies career began in 2004 when he was selected for the regional team which included West Indies legend Brian Lara.

Bravo, 37, was a consistent member of both the Test and One Day International (ODI) West Indies teams showcasing his extraordinary athletic and all-around ability.

Bravo first played for West Indies in April 2004 in an ODI contest against England in Guyana, before making his Test debut at the home of cricket three months later against England at Lord’s Cricket Ground.

His Test career ended in 2010 after playing 40 matches and his 164-match ODI career spanned ten years until 2014.

His T20 West Indies career bowled off in 2006 and it’s the format that has made him a global star especially in West Indies and cricket-crazy India.

Bravo helped West Indies win World T20 titles in 2012 and 2016. Bravo has made a name for himself in T20 cricket by playing in every popular franchise cricket tournament in the world including the Indian Premier League and the Big Bash in Australia.

The West Indies-Pakistan T20 series which ended on August 3 was Bravo’s last match for West Indies on Caribbean soil.

On the day of the final T20 match, West Indies T20 captain Kieron Pollard confirmed this in a video posted by Cricket West Indies media. Bravo, however, is expected to feature at the International Cricket Council T20 World Cup in October/November hosted by the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

THE EARLY YEARS

Bravo grew up in Santa Cruz, a community that has produced many of TT's sporting heroes including the likes of Lara, track and field legend Ato Boldon and former TT footballer Arnold Dwarika.

Santa Cruz is where Queen’s Park Cricket Club coach Charles Guillen first saw Bravo. It did not take him long to realise Bravo was a class above the rest.

“My first sighting of Dwayne (is when) I was playing for Queen’s Park in Santa Cruz,” Guillen said.

“He was a child, he was probably around eight or nine years old. I was distracted from my game when I was looking at this little boy on the basketball court (playing windball cricket) and his talent was very obvious at that very early age.”

Guillen asked Bravo’s family to enrol him at Queen’s Park.

“I invited him to come to our coaching school. I was working under Bryan Davis at the time…his father brought him to the (Queen’s Park) Oval and the relationship started there.”

Guillen added, “It was very evident how much he enjoyed what he did and it was also very evident that he was destined because of his keenness. He was one of the most talented. There was a youngster called Zaheer Ali (also)…that team had a lot of little talented boys, but I played Dwayne in that team when he was 11 and Zaheer was a 14 or 15-year-old. Dwayne was able to look as if he belonged despite his very young and tender age. He was very gifted, very natural.”

Guillen said Bravo did not need much coaching, but it is more about guiding him.

Ali, a former West Indies Under-15 captain, also knew Bravo was a gifted cricketer long before he made his debut for West Indies.

Ali was the captain of the North Zone/Ian Bishop XI which participated in the inaugural British Gas Under-15 Championship in 1995. The tournament was used to select the TT Under-15 team to participate in the Regional Under-15 Championships.

“Bravo was 11 years old…I remembered him always wearing a wristband similar to other West Indian cricketers. I also admired his bravery and confidence as an 11-year-old and he was willing to take on any opposition.”

Ali said from a tender age Bravo was a team player and understood that he was required to play different roles depending on the match situation.

In the final of the British Gas tournament at the Queen’s Park Oval, Ali said Bravo played a crucial inning to help steer the North Zone/Ian Bishop XI to victory over the South West Zone/Gus Logie XI.

“Bravo met me at the wicket batting at number five,” Ali said.

“It was an uphill task with the pace bowlers on and I told him that he had to rotate the strike so that I could get most of the strike. I know it would have been difficult for him because he was minute and could hardly get the ball off the square. However, he was astute, discipline and played sensibly using the pace of the fast bowler to elegantly guide the ball to third man to rotate the strike. He did this for several overs affording me the opportunity to hit the boundaries. The partnership was crucial and we went on to win the final in a nail-biting finish.”

TT Red Force and West Indies wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin, who is a year and a half younger than Bravo, also reflected on one of his early memories of Bravo.

“We had a (TT) Under-19 trial game in Charlieville one year and I think he opened the batting or he batted one down and he made a big hundred that game.”

Ramdin said Bravo faced the father of former TT spinner Amit Jaggernauth, who was one of the leading spinners in the country at the time.

“The way he batted in that game…clearly showed that this guy had something special in him. When he took up the ball he always gave 100 per cent.”

Former West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan also recalled his first encounter with Bravo, two to three years before the latter made his debut for West Indies.

“Actually my first interaction with him was interesting. I think he was working at one of the games that we played there (in Trinidad). He was working as a water boy and he came on the field and he said to me ‘One day I will be playing with you.’ I listened to him briefly and then of course we had to go back and continue the game."

Sarwan said Bravo, who was still a teenager at the time, was destined to play for West Indies. “I think from that day it demonstrated his confidence and his self-belief and I think throughout his career he has shown that. He is never short of confidence regardless of whatever the situation is.”

A TEAM PLAYER ALWAYS FULL OF PASSION

“He is a wonderful team person, which is always a good attribute to have when you playing team sport,” Sarwan said.

“For me, the most important thing is that he has always been a team person.”

The former right-handed Guyanese and West Indies cricketer said upcoming cricketers should emulate Bravo’s passion.

“Two things stand out for him. Obviously, his self-belief when he plays, he likes a challenge. Also, he plays his cricket very hard, puts out 100 per cent at all times regardless of the situation…from the very first ball to the last ball he puts out 100 per cent which is admirable.”

Sarwan, who made his West Indies debut four years before Bravo, said, “He is a very jovial young man (and) I think that is one of the things that stands out for me. He always plays his cricket with a smile, puts out his effort.”

Ramdin said, “Always a team man. He always try to give (those) with talent the opportunity when he was in a position of captaincy…always tried to bring whichever team we are playing with to one common goal which was to win championships.”

Ali said, “It is difficult to articulate and measure his contribution to West Indies cricket, but I recalled that he played many significant roles during his tenure with both bat and ball which contributed to some of the successes of the West Indies cricket team.”

Ali also recalled Bravo’s enthusiasm. “Notably, his ability to transfer the energy from the field of play to the spectators would always stand out.”

MORE TO OFFER WI CRICKET?

Sarwan said, “Of course (Bravo has a lot to offer). I think with his experience and the number of places that he has travelled and played in terms of conditions and various opponents…he can be utilised of course depending on where the board (Cricket West Indies) will want to use him. I think with Dwayne’s personality as well it is very catchy.”

Ramdin said Bravo can “guide the players to become better cricketers and continue to win games and win championships for West Indies.”

Guillen agrees with Ramdin and Sarwan that Bravo would be interested in giving back to cricket.

“I know he will want to do that. Knowing Dwayne he will like to give back. He has spent the better part of 25 years in the game. He has played all over the world. I am sure he will want to do that and I am sure he will be good at it,” Guillen said.

“He is a thinking man, he is a thinker of the game.”