Bravo raises the bar; Narine given a spin
By STEPHON NICHOLAS Wednesday, January 27 2016
Despite missing more than half the Nagico Super50 tournament, Red Force batsman Darren Bravo has set the standard for other West Indies players and provided the blueprint for the resurgence of the regional team.
Fresh off the tour Down Under in which he compiled the second most runs (247), had the fifth best batting average of all players (49.40) and was easily the best batter from the Caribbean, the star left-hander effectively threw down the gauntlet for his Windies peers.
Before playing his first game for TT, Bravo tweeted, “66 all out? As players if we don’t raise our standards here we won’t get it right at the international level.
It’s time 4 (for) us 2 (to) get serious.†And get serious he did. In just three matches, the Santa Cruz batsman finished as the highest scorer in the competition, amassing 271 runs at a staggering average of 91.33 with scores of 82, 95 and 97 respectively to lead the hosts to a title repeat.
Oozing confidence and a new sense of maturity, Bravo simplified the immense form he was showing to this: “At the end of the day, (I’m) playing at the international level. When you come back down to this level, you have to stamp your authority.
We wouldn’t obviously perform each and every single time, but at the end of the day, you always have to give yourself the type of opportunity to get a start.†Given the lack of a stated policy by the West Indies selectors, Bravo’s challenge to the rest of the regional players comes at the opportune time. A new leader in Jason Holder for Tests and oneday matches, the Windies need players who are ready to take that next step in their career. It is not enough for batters to be averaging in their 30s or bowlers taking three wickets in a match and being rewarded with international caps. For all the administrative problems plaguing West Indies cricket, the players can still put in that extra effort to help bridge the tremendous gap between them and the elite teams and bring joy to its suffering fans. He may not be the captain, but the 26-year-old Bravo is leading from the front.
Meanwhile, as the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force were beating the Guyana Jaguars in the semi-finals last Wednesday, few would have noticed a highly embarrassing situation playing out at the Brian Lara Pavilion between off-spinner Sunil Narine and a security guard. The embattled cricketer, serving an international ban while he remodels his bowling action, was being prohibited from entering the players’ enclosure.
TT Manager Roland Sampath dismissed notion of any vendetta against Narine though, stating: “There is nothing about ban, no unauthorised person supposed to go there. He is not a member of the team, he is not a member of the squad, nobody else supposed to go there.†Sampath stressed that there are strict rules that must be adhered to comply with the anti-corruption code and cellphones and other devices are also not allowed among players.
With the ‘Gentleman’s Game’ battling against match-fixing and spot-fixing which has seen several high profile players disgraced and even Jamaican Marlon Samuels serving a two-year ban for bringing the game into disrepute following conversation with an Indian bookie, one cannot be too careful. The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) needs to take the necessary precaution to ensure the standard and integrity of regional cricket is preserved.
The rules governing player interaction must, however, be fully enforced for all. What is good for the goose must be good for the gander.
One does not have to go too far back to find examples of other players being allowed to sit, chat, lime in the players’ enclosure.
On that very day, pacer Shannon Gabriel was seen mingling with the TT players. In 2015, the injured wicketkeeeper Nicholas Pooran, who was replaced by Steven Katwaroo, was seen sitting among the TT cricketers during games.
The fact is that neither Narine nor Gabriel should have been permitted entry into players’ area that day but regional officials must not be selective in their enforcement of the rules to guard against claims of victimisation.
Old habits die hard, but this rule is one that regional officials across the Caribbean must take seriously in the future.
Newsday Team of the Tournament: Kyle Hope (TT Red Force), Assad Fudadin (Guyana Jaguars), Kraigg Brathwaite (Barbados Pride), Darren Bravo (TT Red Force), Andre McCarthy (Jamaica Scorpions), Denesh Ramdin (TT Red Force), Rayad Emrit (TT Red Force), Sulieman Benn (Barbados Pride), Mervyn Matthew (Windwards Volcanoes), Jon Russ Jaggesar (TT Red Force), Delorn Johnson (Windwards Volcanoes).
