CARDIFF, England, CMC – Captain Dwayne Bravo yesterday found himself having to push back against suggestions West Indies were one of the favourites to win the ICC Champions Trophy starting next week.
While West Indies enter the June 6-23 tournament as reigning Twenty20 champions, their form in the 50-over format has not been enterprising, losing eight of their last 13 One-Day Internationals.
Bravo told reporters that West Indies did not consider themselves favourites and did not feel under any pressure to live up to such a tag.
“Well last year in Sri Lanka we were cast as favorites and we end up winning, so it’s good to be favorites again. Hopefully we win this time,” Bravo quipped.
“But honestly we don’t think we are favorites. We just want to concentrate on what we have to do. We’re in a very tough group, and first of all, we want to take it step by step, try and survive that group.
“The talk around is it’s the group of death, so hopefully we get out of the group of death and then take it from there.”
He continued: “A tournament like this, it’s short, and you never know what can happen.
“Being favorites, it’s good that other teams can actually – and media people can actually look at us as favorites, but we don’t see ourselves as favorites.
“We just want to be humble and go about our business in our own way and let the man above take care of our destiny.”
West Indies have been installed in a tough Group B that includes reigning World champions India, South Africa and the unpredictable Pakistan. The top two from each group will progress to the semi-finals.
The Caribbean side are gearing up for the campaign with their second camp in as many weeks, before clashing with Australia in the first of official warm-up game on Saturday, followed by a game against Sri Lanka next Tuesday.
West Indies were whitewashed 5-0 by Australia Down Under earlier this year but Bravo believes the result could be different this time around on neutral soil.
“The series in Australia we didn’t start well and playing in Australia, once you don’t start well it’s difficult to come back,” Bravo pointed out.
“They’re a fantastic team and we have to respect that. But they’re out of Australia, also. Now they’re in England. We’re also in England. I think both teams are going to use the first game as preparation to see exactly what is the right combination for the teams.
“Yes, we want to win the game but it’s about picking the right team, getting a balance and getting our style of play the way we want to play in this tournament.
“Those five games in Australia are behind us. To be honest we’re not really taking it on much. It’s a practice game, and we’re going to try to play to the best.”
The weather is expected to play a key role in tournament, with wet wintry conditions still afflicting England and Wales. On their Test and one-day tour of England last year, West Indies suffered in the conditions, winning just one game.
While acknowledging the challenges posed by the weather, Bravo said his side would be doing their best to quickly acclimatize to the foreign conditions.
“It’s always challenging for us because of the weather. It’s always hard for us to come for two weeks to this weather. Where we come from – the Caribbean – it’s tropical, relaxing, and we’re not the only team struggling in England to be honest. The Indians and Sri Lankans also struggle here,” Bravo asserted.
“Like I said, it’s a tournament that has a lot at stake and a lot of teams want to do well in this tournament but to be honest I’m not going to let the weather get the better of us, and that is one thing I’m going to instill in the team.
“Okay, we are away from home, we are away from our comfort zone, but at the end of the day we are professionals and we have to try and adapt to any kind of conditions before us.”