ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, CMC- Manager of the West Indies team on tour of the United Arab Emirates, Joel Garner, has strongly rejected as “misleading” claims of disorganization in the regional side from veteran all-rounder Dwayne Bravo.
Garner released a statement on Monday saying the team management is “disappointed but not surprised” by Bravo’s comments during an interview on i95.5 FM in Trinidad.
The charges and counter charges between Bravo and Garner came on the heels of ordinary performances by West Indies which have resulted in them losing all five limited overs games played so far against Pakistan.
“The management of the West Indies team in Dubai is disappointed but not surprised by the comments made in the press by Dwayne Bravo,” the statement said.
“Mr Bravo, with prior permission, by the former Head Coach, turned up on the day before the first Twenty20 match. His suggestion of disorganisation in the team’s plans and preparation is therefore false and misleading”.
Apart from suffering a whitewash in the three-match T20 series, West Indies have already lost two of the three One Day International matches and are in danger of losing the final one on Wednesday.
“I was there in Dubai and basically players were lost, the management team looked lost … we were looking like school kids again,” Bravo had said.
“The team meetings had no sort of positive input or anything like that. It was like we were just there.”
But Garner, the former West Indies pacer, says the team was “well prepared” to play Pakistan.
He says part of the preparation included a session on September 10 and 11 in Barbados for physical screening and fitness assessments.
Garner also pointed to a seven-day build-up to the first T20 match against Pakistan which included a warm-up match.
“This team was well prepared to engage Pakistan considering the conditions and the adjustments that were necessary to bring meaningful benefits to this team. Whilst change is difficult to manage, none of the players were neglected by the coaching and support staff in the execution of their duties,” said Garner.
“The team’s preparation consisted of acclimatization, recovery sessions, strength and conditioning, nets and skill sets, management planning meeting which were supported by video footage of the opposition, bullet point reminders and input from our experienced coaching staff and inclusive of the T20 and ODI Captains and the players”.
Bravo also pointed out that the West Indies Cricket Board’s (WICB) decision to sack head coach Phil Simmons on the day of the squad’s departure for Dubai, had left the Caribbean side demoralized.
But Garner did not react to those comments.
