WEST INDIES DECLINING BY POLITICS : BRAVO

Dwayne Bravo lamented the sorry state of West Indies cricket, saying "too much politics" was killing the game in the Caribbean, and that the administrators needed to take a hard look at themselves.

Bravo, who was asked about the team's innings-and-212-run loss to Australia in the first Test in Hobart, said it was painful to see West Indies slip to one big loss after another despite having the personnel to compete.

He pointed the gradual decline to a host of factors, including external interference and lack of infrastructure.

"We've got the players to be up there with the best in the world, but there are a lot of things going on," said Bravo, who is in Australia to play for the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League.

"We don't have proper grounds, proper nets or a proper academy. All these things are a part of our downfall.

"The relationship between players, board members and management staff needs to get stronger and tighter. They need to have a lot more honesty. There are a lot of dishonest people in charge at the moment."

Bravo did not mince words when he said it was time administrators stopped talking up a glorious past and started looking ahead.

His remarks follow those of Michael Holding who said the WICB was "dysfunctional, untrustworthy and not liked by the employees," while Brian Lara squarely laid the blame on the administrators for "bad governance."

"It's painful to see this is the stage our cricket has reached, [given] at one point in time we were the best team in the world," Bravo said.

"If those in charge keep harping on about the past and not trying to do anything for the present then we'll always have these type of interviews, we'll have back and forth with ex-players saying this and current players saying that. The rest of the world will go on and we'll always be backwards."

Bravo, who was West Indies captain until the tour of India in October 2014, was sacked after the team abandoned the tour midway over a payment dispute with the WICB and the West Indies players' association.

He was also subsequently left out of the World Cup squad and has not played an ODI since October 2014. He announced his Test retirement in January and said that he took the decision after not getting a chance to play the longer format after 2010.

"Until earlier this year, I was still interested to play Test cricket, but I have yet to hear anything from any selector, what their plans are for me, what my position is," said Bravo.

"I just decided it's time to move on with my life and try to channel my energy in different places. I would have loved the opportunity to play Test cricket again but since being dropped back in 2010, I never got the chance and I just decided to call it a day."

Despite being in the mix only for the T20s, Bravo said he had not given up hope on playing ODIs again. "I'm not shutting down my opportunities to represent West Indies, I still 100% want to play for West Indies in one-day internationals and T20s."

written by CHARITHARDHA

 

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