-Wavell Hinds chosen as replacement
By Tony Cozier
Dwayne Brave, their most dynamic all-rounder and new vice-captain, was Tuesday added to the long list of key West Indies players eliminated by injuries from the imminent series of five ODIs and two T20 Internationals in Australia.
It was confirmed that Bravo, who was already in Australia where he played for the Victoria Bushrangers in the ‘Big Bash’ Twenty20 tournament, broke a finger on his right hand when batting against Tasmania in Hobart on January 15.
He pulled out two days after the West Indies team arrived in Canberra where the tour starts with the traditional match against the Prime Minister’s XI today (tonight east Caribbean time). The first ODI is a day-night match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday.
Team trainer/physiotherapist C.J.Clarke reported that Bravo would be sidelined for two weeks. He was expected to return to the Caribbean.
Bravo, who has scored 1,511 runs, taken 114 wickets, held 43 catches and saved countless runs in the field in 99 ODIs, joins four other prominent injured absentees – batsmen Shivnarine Chanderpaul (252 ODIs, 8,250 runs) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (4,907 runs, 152 ODIs) and fast bowlers Fidel Edwards (60 ODIs, 50 wickets) and Jerome Taylor (61 ODIs 92 wickets).
Opener Adrian Barath, 19, and Darren Bravo, Dwayne’s younger brother who is 21 on Saturday, are two youthful up-and-comers who would probably be among the 15 in Australia but for their injuries. (See accompanying list).
The elder Bravo was selected, presumably on his own word and that of the Victoria administration, even though his damaged hand prevented him playing in the Bushrangers’ victories in the Big Bash semi-final and final.
It is his second injury setback in a year and a half. An operation on his painful left ankle kept him out of tours of Abu Dhabi and New Zealand in late 2008 and the home and away Tests against England last January through May.
He was confined to the ODIs against England and the World Twenty20 championship in England last June, also turning out for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) last April and for Trinidad and Tobago in the Champions League in India in October.
He was among the leading players who opted out of the home series against Bangladesh last June but was back for the Tests in Australia in November and December, scoring his third Test hundred in Adelaide and claiming 11 wickets. The selection panel, headed by Clyde Butts, reportedly recommended left-hand batsman Wavell Hinds, 35 and a veteran of 114 ODIs, as Bravo’s replacement.
Hinds’ Jamaican teammate, all-rounder David Bernard, an accomplished batsman and medium-paced swing bowler, would be a more like-for-like choice. But, against Bernard’s 14 ODIs, Hinds offers the value of experience in a team shorn of it by the present circumstances.
Three of his five ODI hundreds are against Australia where he has twice toured. He would also carry form with him following scores of 95, 70 and 151 in Jamaica’s three matches in the current regional first-class tournament.
WEST INDIES
INJURY LIST
ADRIAN BARATH: Tore right hamstring muscle on final day of second Test against Australia in Adelaide December 8. Hasn’t played since. Making slow progress towards full fitness. Likely to return to Trinidad & Tobago’s team in their next match in the regional first-class tournament v Windward Islands, at the Queen’s Park Oval February 19-22.
DARREN BRAVO: Right shoulder strain, hasn’t played in the current regional first-class season. Returned to club cricket last week, expected back in Trinidad & Tobago’s next match v Windward Islands at the Queen’s Park Oval, February 19-22.
DWAYNE BRAVO: Broken finger on right hand, hit when batting for Victoria Bushrangers against Tasmania Tigers in Australia’s Big Bash T20 tournament in Hobart, January 15. Out for another two weeks. Eliminated from West Indies squad for forthcoming Commonwealth Bank ODI Series and KFC T20s in Australia.
SHIVNARINE CHANDERPAUL: Tore ligaments in right hand fielding in second Test against Australia in Adelaide December 8. Hasn’t played since. Reportedly close to full fitness.
FIDEL EDWARDS: Slipped disc, operated on in Jamaica last month. Undergoing rehabilitation with WICB physical therapist Jacqueline King. Last played for West Indies in the World T20 championship in England in June but did bowl for Deccan Chargers in the Champions League in India in October. Unlikely to be able to play again until the end of the year, at the earliest.
JEROME TAYLOR: Damaged hip on the opening day of the first Test against Australia in Brisbane November 26. Hasn’t played since. WICB to carry out an assessment on his fitness this week.
RAMNARESH SARWAN: Aggravated back injury prior to the start of the regional first-class season. Yet to play a match. Doing strength and conditioning work and expected to be back for Guyana’s next match v Barbados at Albion February 12-15.
