Bravo blocked by WICB again

Bravo, 28, has not played for the West Indies since November 3, last year. The left-hander had his match contract for a tri-nation series with Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka cancelled after making a disparaging tweet to CWI president Dave Cameron where he called him a “big idiot”.

Newsday understands that CWI has indicated to the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TT CB) that Bravo should be prohibited from playing until he removes the tweet and apologises to Cameron.

According to a source who wished to remain anonymous, this has not been well received by some of the national players selected for the practice match.

The Red Force team is captained by Marlon Richards and includes Lendl Simmons, Sunil Narine, Kevon Cooper, Rayad Emrit, Samuel Badree and Imran Khan to name a few.

Newsday has been informed that some players have flatly refused to play if Bravo is not permitted to take part.

They were hoping to match would act as a bridge to medning the relations between the regional body and the exiled player.

Since the infamous tweet, which stemmed from Cameron saying Bravo was not offered an ‘A’ contract (Bravo denied ever receiving an ‘A’ contract) because he was not performing, Bravo has been banned from regional cricket as well and has not played a match this year, missing the 2017 Regional Super50 and the four-day competition.

Speaking to Newsday yesterday, Suruj Ragoonath, CEO of the TT CB, acknowledged that Bravo’s participation in the practice match is in doubt.

He also revealed that Cricket West Indies does not want the match to be held at the National Cricket Centre in Couva.

Asked whether Bravo will be playing on Tuesday, he said: “At this point in time, Darren Bravo is in our squad.” Probed as to whether the regional governing body has an issue with Darren’s presence in the squad, he admitted, “They do. I’m working towards resolving that but the bigger issue right now is the venue. The West Indies board has an issue with playing at the NCC, what exactly is the nature of it, I’m not sure.” Ragoonath, who played 66 First Class matches for TT over a decade, said he is trying his best to get the match to be played at the NCC or at another venue.

But he noted his task is challenging as it is currently a long weekend with a public holiday on Monday.

“By tomorrow I will know for sure and only if the game is off I will send out a (press) release,” he said.

The NCC in Couva has hosted Regional Super50 (men and women) matches in the recent past with the full approval of the regional governing body.

The source told Newsday that it is the banning of Bravo and not the venue that is putting the match in doubt.