Bravo does not see himself as a big-hitter

West Indies batsman Darren Bravo has announced that playing simple and smart cricket would be the key to winning any Twenty20 International.

The West Indies will be looking to win their first major tournament in a long time as they go up against hosts Sri Lanka in the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Twenty20 final later today.

A West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) statement quoted Bravo as saying: “The aim is always to get better at what you do. If you keep it simple and play it smart you will get success, I have played some good innings in the past and that has given me the confidence to go out and perform. It is important that I continue doing what I have been doing and that I believe in myself.”

Even though Bravo, who is a cousin of batting legend Brian Lara, does not have the ability to be a big-hitter like Chris Gayle or Kieron Pollard, he can still score runs at a quick rate with simple orthodox cricketing strokes.

“There are a lot of power-hitters in the team, so it is important that when I get my chance, I look to settle down and bat around the others,” Bravo said.

Bravo, who first caught the attention of the cricketing world when scoring three centuries in four Test matches during tours of Bangladesh and India, stated that he knew that role he had to play in the Twenty20 squad.

“People tend to think that 20 overs is not a lot of overs but I tend to look at it as balls — there are 120 balls in an innings and that is a lot of balls when you think about it, if I go in with 100 balls to go, I think that gives me the best possible chance to get a good start and manoeuvre the ball into the spaces. After that you then look to hit the big sixes and fours coming on at the end,” Bravo added.