St George’s Grenada – Captain Dwayne Bravo praised his team-mates for their "overwhelming support" during his stint as skipper of the Windies in the just concluded One-Day Series.
Under Bravo’s leadership, the West Indies dominated Zimbabwe and made a 3-0 clean sweep of the series, played in ideal conditions at the Grenada National Stadium. The series signalled a successful return to international cricket on the Spice Isle after a four-year absence, and Bravo also lauded the fans for their immense support.
"I want to say it was a great team performance which saw us win this series. I couldn’t have done it without the help of everyone in the dressing room – the players as well as the management staff. We came here to win and to win three games, and that is what we managed to achieve," the 29-year-old allrounder said.
"The first thing I said was that I wanted everyone in the team to see themselves as a leader and think like a captain. There is not everything the captain can see, so I leaned on the advice of others in the team. We enjoyed the three games," added Bravo, who took a career-best 6-43 in the second match.
"We wanted to win well and entertain the fans at home, so for me it was a personal delight to see the way the fans came out and supported us in every match. We will take this momentum into the T20s in Antigua. Darren Sammy will come back as captain and he has done a great job as captain and we also expect the fans in Antigua to come out and support us in the weekend, afternoon matches."
The West Indies won the first match by a whopping 156 runs last Friday and dominated the Zimbabweans in a seven-wicket victory on Sunday. They clinched the 3-0 result on Wednesday – which marked 100 days to go before the start of the ICC Champions Trophy tournament in England.
As Bravo looked forward, he noted: "It is always important for us to keep our feet on the ground and recognise there is always room for improvement. We are happy with the result and generally the way we went about our business, but we know there is still work to be done."
SCHEDULE OF MATCHES
Fri, Feb 22: 1st One-Day International – West Indies won by 156 runs – National Cricket Stadium, St. George’s, Grenada
Sun, Feb 24: 2nd One-Day International – West Indies won by 7 wickets – National Cricket Stadium
Tue, Feb 26: 3rd One-Day International – West Indies won by 5 wickets – National Cricket Stadium
Sat, Mar 2: 1st T20 International – Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, North Sound, Antigua
Sun, Mar 3: 2nd T20 International – Vivian Richards Cricket Ground
Thu, Mar 7 to Sat, Mar 9: Tour match – Windward Sports Club, Lucas Street, Barbados
Tue, Mar 12 to Sat, Mar 16: 1st Test – Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
Wed, Mar 20 to Sun, Mar 24: 2nd Test – Windsor Park, Roseau, Dominica