17 December,2015 08:31 AM IST | | AFP
Star all-rounder Dwayne Bravo laments West Indies Cricket Board's sorry state of affairs which is hurting the game in the Caribbean
Dwayne Bravo
Melbourne: Out-of-favour all-rounder Dwayne Bravo yesterday lamented the sorry state of West Indian cricket and said those running the game needed to take a long hard look at themselves.
Also Read: Michael Holding calls WICB 'dysfunctional and untrustworthy'
Dwayne Bravo. Pic/Getty Images
Bravo was stripped of the one-day captaincy a year ago then left out of the West Indies' World Cup squad after the team he skippered walked out of their tour of India last year in a row over contracts.
He has not been picked for one-dayers since and quit Test cricket this year after being ignored by selectors.
In Australia to play for the Melbourne Renegades in the Twenty20 Big Bash League, Bravo said it was painful to see what had happened to the once-formidable West Indian team.
"Times change and I think that is one of our problems, we tend to hold on too much to the past and not focus on the future. That has been our downfall," he said. "It's painful to see the state of our cricket."
His comments come amid stinging criticism about the tourists' inept performance in the first Test of their current series against Australia, who won in Hobart by an innings inside three days on Saturday.
Lack of facilities...
Bravo joined a host of fellow former greats in blaming the West Indies Cricket Board for the current malaise. "We've got the players to be up there with the best in the world but there's a lot of things going on," he said.
"Those in charge have to look into themselves. 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 - it needs to get stronger and tighter. They (the board) need to have a lot more honesty."
Bravo said despite wanting to play Test cricket again earlier this year, he was now no longer interested. "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 32-year-old Bravo, who has played 40 Tests.
"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."
