Bravo eyes WI pick, blanks academy

TRINIDAD and Tobago cricket  allrounder Dwayne Bravo has decided to opt out of the 2003 class of the Shell West Indies Cricket Academy in St George’s, Grenada for the second straight year.

Last year, the Queen’s Park top-order batsman and medium-pace bowler was unable to participate due to his selection in the West Indies “A” team to Britain and Canada. And, after a commendable performance in the recent Carib Beer tournament, the 20-year-old has set his sights on a West Indies pick for the Cable and Wireless series against Sri Lanka.

“He (Bravo) sees his chances of making the West Indies team against Sri Lanka and, if indeed he gets a call, the Academy wouldn’t be able to release him,” said Rambhai Patel, secretary of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board of Control (TTCBC).

Barbadian allrounder Dwayne Smith has also blanked the 12-week programme while Jamaican pacer Andrew Richardson delayed his arrival due to illness. Other TT representatives in the course, which will be held at the St George’s University, are off-spinner Amit Jaggernauth as well as middle-order batsmen Denzil James and Kenton Thompson.