BRAVO MUST MAKE SPACE FOR SOMEONE ELSE

– after persistent batting failures

…Scored only 36 runs in last 6 matches

At this point in his career, the elegant stroke-maker Darren Bravo has failed to live up to expectations of his being the next ‘Prince of West Indies Cricket’. Often compared to his eminent countryman, the great Brian Charles Lara, this touted West Indies batsman has been recording too many persistent failures with the bat, and ought to redeem himself quickly in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup if he seriously hopes to retain a place in the West Indies Team.
His poor run of form has been evident since his return to the One Day International (ODI) team in December 2018, when Bangladesh were touring the West Indies. After two years without playing an ODI, his return had seen him score only 57 runs in that three-match series.
Good form continued to elude this batsman when he played in the Home Series against England. In the four innings he batted, he had only one score above fifty — 133 runs.
Many had thought that Bravo would produce with the bat against weaker opponents in Ireland, but he failed to score anything nearly approaching 50 in the Tri-Nations Tour of Ireland. In the five innings he batted in that series, he had scores of 09*, 01, 17, 06, and 03.
His batting failures continued in the West Indies’ opening World Cup match against Pakistan when he was dismissed for a duck by Mohammed Amir.
A player of his calibre must produce more substantially with the bat.
It is certainly time for Bravo to face the music by sitting out the starting XI against Australia, come June 6, 2019. The selectors have given him ample opportunity, but he has not delivered since his return to the ODI team in December 2018. Instead, he has, in recent times, been involved in disputes with Cricket West Indies (CWI) under the Dave Cameron Administration, which had asked him to play Regional cricket.
From an ODI career average of above 40, Bravo currently averages 30.98 in ODIs in the 108 matches he has played. And the three centuries he has scored in ODI matches are achievements of ages ago.
Rising stars Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer have surpassed Bravo in terms of centuries and ratings. Hetmyer has scored his centuries in a short space of time, and Hope has been the leading run-scorer in ODIs since October 2018.
Bravo’s ODI career, which began in 2009, has been overrated by his Caribbean people, because he has never been ranked in the top 20 of the ICC ODI batting ranking. The 30-year-old Bravo has on his side time to make a return with a bang. He has compiled 2,820 runs in his 108 ODIs, and this includes 18 half-centuries.
Bravo spoke to CWI media during his World Cup campaign, detailing that the West Indies team have a mixture of youth and experience in their firepower batting line-up. In recent times, Bravo has not produced the firepower of an experienced campaigner.
The left-hander is expected to ‘bounce back’ soon; but in the meantime he must be placed on the sidelines, and Evin Lewis should partner Gayle at the top and Hope should bat at number three. (Brandon Corlette)