Before West Indies Cricketer Dwayne John Bravo was selected for the West Indies senior team, I had identified him as someone who would likely be selected and go on become a star. Boy, did I pick that one right! This was way back in February 2004, yes, that is right, 20 years ago, when he was only 20 years old. I was at a Carib Beer Cup match in Jamaica (I believe it was at Alpart Sports Club in St Elizabeth) and asked him for an interview. He was modest and also surprised that someone, writing for the foremost cricket website CaribbeanCricket.com wanted to interview him. We stood up by a chain link fence as you can see from the picture. In recognition of his announcement that he is retiring from all forms of cricket, below is the transcript from that interview, first published on February 13, 2004. A few months later, in April, he made his debut in the One Day International (ODI) match against England in Guyana. Then in July of that same year, he was on his way to England to play in his first Test series.
Thank you, DJ Bravo. Best wishes on your next chapter and thank you for always agreeing to speak with me.
One of the brightest spots in this year’s Carib Beer Cup competition is Trinidad & Tobago all-rounder Dwayne John Bravo. In the first five matches, Bravo has helped himself to 455 runs (avg 50.55) with a personal best of 197.
The 20-year-old has also picked up 21 wickets to push his team into contention for a semi-final berth and has in the process sent a clear message to the senior West Indies selectors. But, who is Dwayne Bravo? What makes him tick. CaribbeanCricket.com roving reporter Michelle McDonald tells us…
MM: Dwayne, at the end of Round 5 of the Carib Beer competition, you were the leading run scorer with 455 runs and had taken the 5th highest number of wickets so first of all congratulations. Did you set yourself any targets before this year’s season started?
DB: Yes, I set myself goals coming into this series. I was looking forward to scoring 600 runs and taking 25 wickets, and as you can see, I am achieving my goals slowly as the game progresses and I’m feeling good about myself.
Apart from just achieving the numbers, how would you evaluate your performance so far in the tournament this year?
I would say my performances have be good, but maybe they could have been better at times. I think I’m not consistent enough in terms of batting, and that is something that I have to work on and looking forward to improving in my future.
You have batted at several positions in the order this season. What is your preferred position, and why?
Normally I prefer to open the batting, but developing as an all-rounder it was suggested that I drop lower down in the order because of having a long day in the field and having to go open the batting it puts a lot of pressure on me and I sat down and thought about it and I realized that dropping down in the middle is the better place for me.
Have you evaluated your scores when you’ve opened and when you’ve dropped down further, is there any difference?
Not much difference, I score hundreds opening and also in the middle, but when I do go in the middle is either I go 3 or 4 and sometimes wickets do fall early so it comes in like I?m opening.
You had a very ordinary Red Stripe Bowl season last year, making only 24 runs in the 4 matches you played in, and taking only 6 wickets. Please comment on that performance.
In the Red Stripe Bowl I think I didn’t gather myself properly. I wasn’t really prepared for it. It’s a one day game and I get carried away in terms of like One Day cricket. I wasn’t looking to build an innings; I was just trying to get on with things from ball one and I know that that was wrong. I got injured (ankle) after the second game and I lost momentum there.
Which form of the game do you prefer and why?
Any youngster will prefer to play Test cricket rather than one day cricket but I don’t favour any one, I just love playing cricket and I want to play at the highest level.
You’re from Santa Cruz in Trinidad, the same village that produced Brian Lara. Describe what it was like growing up in Santa Cruz while Lara was breaking world records.
Santa Cruz is a small village where a lot of good sporting athletes come from. In football we have Arnold Dwarika (Trinidad & Tobago national striker), in athletics you have Ato Boldon also Wendel Mottley. So in terms of athletics we have good athletes coming from Santa Cruz. But in Brian’s case, I feel good to come out from Santa Cruz knowing that Brian Lara is from Santa Cruz. We do have a good, good relationship. We are very close and he looks after me in every possible way that he can. Whenever he is back home and he has time he calls me and talks to me. I go up by him. We have a good relationship going and that is good to see the #1 batsman in the world looking after the youngsters coming up from his hometown. I look up to Brian and now I want other youngsters in Santa Cruz to start looking up to me.
Take us through your cricket career, starting with how you got into playing the game and at what age.
The first time I really join a coaching clinic was at age 5, that was the Harvard Coaching Clinic (in St James) and I was there for 3 years and then in Santa Cruz I was practising in the nets while Queen’s Park Cricket Club was playing in Santa Cruz. While batting in the nets there was a guy by the name of Charles Guillen who saw me ? he’s my personal coach now – he saw me from a distance and came across and had a word with me and asked who is my dad and if I am interested in coming to Queen’s Park Cricket Club and I tell them talk to my dad they talk and they come to a decision that I will come to the club. I was 8 years old at that time. From age nine, I started in Queen’s Park Sunday morning coaching clinic which was run by Brian Davis and from there I would say my career really started. There’s a competition called the British Gas U-15 where all the teams from the North, South etc. come together and try and make our national U-15 team. Well I made that team at age 10 and from there on I never looked back.
Who would you say has had the most impact on how you’ve developed as a player?
My coach. Guillen. From a young player growing up, he was always up by my side, stick close to me and any technical work that I have problems with, he?s the one solve it out and sort it out for me, so I think Gillen is the man that holds the key for my success today.
Which cricketer is your role model?
Only one. Brian Charles Lara and no one else.
What has been your greatest cricketing moment?
I have plenty. I can remember when I just came back from New Zealand from the U-19 world cup. I didn’t have a good World Cup and coming back to play for Trinidad & Tobago for the first time, scoring my first hundred in first class cricket at Guaracara Park was one of the biggest joys for me. And this year 197 against West Indies B, also another great innings.
Did you watch the last series between West Indies and South Africa (SA)? what are your comments on the performance of the team?
I watched it off and on I never really sit down and watch it because of practice schedules and matches. First of all I’d like to say it’s a young team that went to SA, I know it would have been difficult for them to come out winning the series although I was looking forward to them giving the South Africans a good fight even though they don’t win the series but I know it would have been hard for them. They got set back by a lot of injuries and that is something that no one has control over.
In your opinion, how do you think they could improve?
Well as Brian was requesting, retainer contracts for the players. I think that will help a lot in terms of when our domestic cricket finish, players won’t have to run to England or go to New York right away to look for pocket change. If we could get our test players to stay back home and play club cricket, play for their respective clubs I think our cricket will improve and will do better for West Indies.
If you got selected to play for the West Indies, what positive qualities and skills do you think you would bring to the team?
My all round abilities as a batsman who can bat and bowl as good as I think I can bat, and a great fieldsman and some one who always have a good positive vibe in any team and I think any team will appreciate a player like me.
How seriously do you take your physical fitness?
I take my fitness very seriously. In any sport you have to be fit, whether it’s mentally fit or physically fit. In off-season, I try my best to go to gyms and keep myself in good shape, do beep tests, a test where you know where your fitness is at, it’s a test that the TTCB assign the team to do, all the players have to do a beep test before getting selected. Every time I’ve done my beep test I’ve passed it and it’s something good for me. I know that I am fit.
During cricket season, do you do anything else apart from the practice with the team?
No I don’t do anything in terms of like going to the gym because the amount of travelling and the games are so close I don’t have time, but what I do, I do abs and push ups and stuff, and laps after the game.
Have you identified any flaws that you need to work on?
Yes, I look at myself on videos. Our team travels with someone who looks after that. So after every game we go and have a look and see where we went wrong and I go back to my coach and try and work it out in the nets.
Last year you were selected to attend the Shell Cricket Academy but you decided to opt out. What made you decide not to go?
It was a decision that wasn’t made entirely by myself. I was prepared to go, I was ready to go. I had already signed the contract to join the Academy but having things that were saying that I would have been selected to represent the West Indies team in the ODI’s against Australia and the Academy was saying in the contract if you were selected to play for the West Indies they would not release you. So it was a decision I had to make whether or not I want to go to the Academy and if get selected I can’t get released, or stay out and hope that I get selected. But Michael Seepersaud from the WICB spoke with the Chairman of Selectors, Sir Viv and they advised him that I should stay out of the Academy. The decision wasn’t made by me.
But Jerome Taylor was at the academy….
Well, I ask myself the same question because Jerome was in the Academy and they released him to play a game and then he finally get on to the team. So I asked myself the same question. I would have liked to have gone to the academy. I think it would have made me a better player and a better person in life. But as I said again, it wasn’t my fault.
After you found out you weren’t selected, did you then take it up with whoever advised you not to go?
No, I didn’t take it up. It’s a choice that I made, even though they advise me to stay out, I could have taken it up on myself and decide to go but you know, sometimes you make choices in life and it don’t really come through, so I just have to move forward.
What did you do instead, during that 3 month period?
At times I picked up the phone, and called New York, I call England to see if there was any club, I wanted to play cricket in Barbados too. That 3 month time I was bored, and looking forward to playing some cricket but there was no cricket no where. I couldn’t have got any contracts in England any more and I just decided that I would go to the gym and be prepared, get ready for 2004.
You’ve made a decision to pursue a career in cricket. What would you be doing if you hadn’t chosen cricket?
I don’t know what I’d be doing. Maybe who knows…have a good job or try to maybe play a different sport. But I think I was born to play cricket. I think so. I’m gifted, a gifted person.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
I see myself as a sure player on the West Indies team, someone who’s looking forward to help people coming up and enjoying my life …one life to live. I’m looking forward to getting selected (this year), but I am also leaving room for disappointment. Things change, things do happen, people make mistakes, so if I’m selected I would be glad for it, but if not, I just have to work at it.
Anything else that we should know about Dwayne John Bravo?
He’s a very easy going person, someone who loves to try, always giving his best whenever he hits the cricket field and hoping one day to get on the test team and to try and play a big role on the West Indies team and try and help the West Indies team back on top to where they belong in the near future.
