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Former England batting coach will continue to work with Middlesex through 2022 summer

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Feb-2022Mark Ramprakash will work alongside Middlesex’s batters this summer after the club extended his consultancy.Ramprakash, who began his playing career at Middlesex before moving south of the river to Surrey, was England’s batting coach between 2014 and 2019. He subsequently took up a role a director of cricket at Harrow, which he has combined with media work, before being brought in by Middlesex over the winter.”Since Ramps joined us at the start of our winter training programme, the impact he’s had has been incredible,” Middlesex’s head of men’s performance cricket, Alan Coleman, said. “He has brought an energy to our sessions that not only engages the players but constantly challenges them to improve.Related

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“I share Ramps’ view that you don’t want to waste a single session and that getting in the nets isn’t simply about hitting balls. He raises the intensity, puts the players under pressure in scenario-based sessions, where every ball counts and every shot matters.”He has engaged the group, who are showing plenty of signs of responding well to his methods, and in Ramps we have a coach that completely gets what we’re trying to achieve as a playing group and coaching team and cares deeply about the club.”I’m thrilled that he has committed himself to the group for the rest of this season, and I can’t wait to see what we can collectively achieve with him as an important part of the coaching unit.”Ramprakash scored more than 35,000 first-class runs in his career, including 114 centuries, although he was viewed as an unfulfilled talent after averaging 27.32 across 52 Tests for England.He spent a period as Middlesex’s batting coach after retiring from playing in 2012, and returns with the club seeking to improve fortunes after a difficult 2021 that saw Angus Fraser, the long-serving director of cricket, moved sideways into a new role and Stuart Law sacked as head coach. Coleman now heads a new coaching structure, with Richard Johnson – a former Middlesex team-mate of Ramprakash – appointed as first-team coach last month.In particular, Ramprakash will look to raise batting standards among a top order that has struggled to regularly post big scores in Championship cricket, with Middlesex losing eight out of 14 red-ball fixtures last season.

Head coach Ben Sawyer and assistant coach Craig McMillan oversee ten New Zealand players including Jess Kerr, Brooke Halliday and Georgia Plimmer

Deivarayan Muthu10-Aug-2025New Zealand have ramped up their prep for the upcoming Women’s ODI World Cup in India and Sri Lanka with a two-week camp in spin-friendly conditions at the Chennai Super Kings Academy in Chennai.While a number of Black Caps, including Rachin Ravindra, have frequented the high-performance facility in the recent past, this is the White Ferns’ first specialised overseas camp and the timing of it has been “perfect,” according to head coach Ben Sawyer, who is overseeing ten New Zealand players in Chennai along with assistant coach Craig McMillan.”Yeah, 100% correct. It’s currently winter in New Zealand, there’s no cricket and we’re nearly two months out of the World Cup,” Sawyer told ESPNcricinfo. “So, to have that prep time in India, we’ve been able to bring seven contracted players and then three of our players of interest along. So, the girls that we think will play lots of cricket in India in the future as well. So yeah, it’s been an amazing experience so far.”Related

• The other Kerr: how a New Zealand allrounder is emerging from her younger sister's shadow

• Craig McMillan named full-time NZ women's assistant coach ahead of ODI World Cup

• Bree Illing and Bella James earn maiden New Zealand contracts

• Devine to retire from ODIs after the World Cup

Seam-bowling allrounder Jess Kerr, opening batter Georgia Plimmer and Brooke Halliday, who had scored 38 off 28 balls in the T20 World Cup final last year, which New Zealand won, are among the seven contracted players on tour while Izzy Sharp, Flora Devonshire and Emma McLeod have been included as emerging players.After the Chennai camp, New Zealand’s players and staff will return home and will likely head to Dubai to play one-dayers against England in the lead-up to the ODI World Cup, which will kick off on September 30. Sawyer believes that exposure to stifling conditions in Chennai and Dubai will tune up New Zealand’s players for similar conditions that may face during the ODI World Cup.”Yeah, it’s hugely beneficial and even more so this year because just with the FTP cycle, we’ve had no official matches since February,” Sawyer said. “So to get these three one-day games in Chennai, to get two or three games in Dubai against England, a really strong opposition, will be great and then we also get the two World Cup warm-up games. So that’s seven or eight games we’re going to get in similar conditions. Yeah, that’s just huge for us.”Jess Kerr runs in to bowl during New Zealand’s time at the Super Kings Academy•Super Kings Academy

New Zealand’s team management is also leaning on inputs from High Performance Sport New Zealand and Dr Kirsty Fairbairn, an experienced dietitian who has worked with both the White Ferns and Black Ferns (the women’s rugby team), to look after their players in subcontinent conditions.”We’ve actually tried to train really hard the last five days and I guess in a way not to recover, try to just do it naturally and let your bodies adapt to the conditions,” Sawyer said. “And now we’re playing the three games, we’ll try and recover really well.”But yeah, we’ve actually tried to expose ourselves as much to the heat as we can. So, we’ve had some really good help from High Performance Sport New Zealand and a guy that helped with the Tokyo Olympics and how they dealt with the heat. He’s basically told us that the week here and then the week in Dubai are probably perfect timings for the World Cup.”The presence of India internationals such as Asha Sobhana and D Hemalatha, Tamil Nadu’s teenage prodigy G Kamalini, who had won WPL 2025 with Mumbai Indians, and Swiss international Meghna Rajan has added a competitive edge to the camp. Asha castled Polly Inglis on Saturday and tested other New Zealand batters with her loopy legbreaks and wrong’uns on a sluggish surface.”Getting balls to face in New Zealand during the winter is really difficult,” Sawyer said. “We’ve had WPL players come down to bowl to us and Asha from RCB is with us here in the camp and it’s been great for our girls to chat to her and learn about these conditions.”Just a few days into the camp, Sawyer is impressed with the positive approach of the New Zealand batters against spin.”I think Izzy Sharp is a great example today,” Sawyer said. “She made 80. She played a lot off the back foot, but then was able to get really close into the pitch of the ball. And Sri (Sriram Krishnamurthy, former NZC pathway coach who is now CSK academy’s head coach) was great the other day, gave us a bit of a masterclass in playing spin.”And it was great to see Izzy use her feet today and get down the wicket really quickly. Maddy Green’s a great player. She did it her way [with sweeps and reverse-sweeps], she did it in a different way to Izzy, but both were successful and that’s what we’ve spoken about.”While this group is sweating it out in Chennai, Suzie Bates had posted a career-best 163 for Durham last month and Sophie Devine and Amelia Kerr are currently playing in the Hundred. It’s still winter in New Zealand, but the team management has ensured that their players won’t rock up cold at the World Cup.”You can see we brought a lot of younger players because the likes of Sophie, Suzie and Lea Tahuhu have been here before and Sophie is at the Hundred,” Sawyer said. “Paul Wiseman is with our spinners in Lincoln and a few of our quicks are working with Graeme [Alridge] in various locations. So, everyone’s getting what they need. Some players are actually doing a few sessions in heat chambers back home. I think we’re doing as much as we can to prepare for the conditions [at the World Cup].”

The Queensland captain will miss the game against Victoria with an eye on the Test summer which starts in December

AAP12-Oct-2023Usman Khawaja has been rested for Queensland’s next Sheffield Shield fixture as Cricket Australia’s workload management spreads to include batters ahead of the international summer.The Queensland captain is fit and healthy, but on Saturday he will watch his side’s clash with Victoria in Mackay from his home in Brisbane.Queensland still have four Shield games before the first Test of the summer against Pakistan, beginning in Perth on December 14.Related

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• Khawaja: Neser is Australia's Woakes

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Australia, currently competing in the ODI World Cup in India, will play a five-game T20 series against the hosts, before returning home for a five-Test summer.They will also play two Tests in New Zealand in February and March, and contest T20 series alongside those five-day clashes.AAP understands all Australian squad members will be subject to the load management policy – which had not been flagged before Khawaja’s omission on Thursday – on a case-by-case basis.How to best manage bowlers’ workloads has long been a divisive topic, with Australian captain Pat Cummins dismissing the notion of rotation in India and hopeful his battery of quicks will play every World Cup game if fit.The 36-year-old Khawaja has a relatively light schedule compared with some of his Test team-mates who frequent the world T20 circuit, but he will play for the Brisbane Heat in the BBL.His omission is a nod to how crowded the modern-day cricketer’s calendar has become.”Ideally you want your captain and best player to be there for every game, but we all know that, barring injury, he will be one of the first bats picked for the Pakistan series, so we understand the rationale behind the decision-making process,” Queensland coach Wade Seccombe said.”Uzzie is philosophical about it. He’d be happy to play, but he will also benefit from a more measured build-up ahead of another big international schedule for Australia.”He’s hitting them well, so we shouldn’t be too concerned on that front.”In-form wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson will captain in Khawaja’s absence, while Gold Coast product Ben McDermott is poised for a Shield return after his off-season move from Tasmania.

The Ireland captain was struck on the helmet after scoring a century in the first ODI

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jan-2023Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie has been withdrawn from the ODI series against Zimbabwe after getting hit on the helmet in the opening match. Left-hand batter Murray Commins has received his first call-up as Balbirnie’s replacement and Paul Stirling will stand-in as captain.Balbirnie scored his eighth ODI hundred and was on 121 when a low full toss from Brad Evans deflected off his bat onto his helmet. A stretcher brought out but he managed to walk off the field, and Ireland did not use the concussion substitute.”Andrew Balbirnie sustained a suspected mild concussive episode after being struck on the helmet while batting in yesterday’s match against Zimbabwe,” Mark Rausa, head of physiotherapy and medical services for Cricket Ireland, said. “He retired hurt and did not take the field in the second innings in line with concussion protocols. He was reassessed this morning, but the decision has been made to withdraw him from the remaining two matches of this series as a precaution.”Related

• Zimbabwe clinch last-ball thriller in rain-hit game against Ireland

When Zimbabwe had toured Ireland in 2021, Commins, playing for the A side, scored a half-century at the top of the order. He had low returns in Ireland’s domestic 50-overs competition last year but struck a century in the T20 competition.”It’s extremely disappointing to lose our skipper in this manner, particularly after his outstanding century in his 200th match for Ireland,” Ireland selector Andrew White said. W”e all hope his recovery is quick and he is back on the park soon.”With Andrew’s withdrawal, we have called up Murray Commins. Murray is a talented top-order batter that we see as a direct replacement – we know he has the stroke play, technique and mindset to build big scores and being left-handed, he will also add a new dimension to the top order. Given the volume of cricket coming up, this is also an opportunity to give Murray exposure to the international arena.”After losing the T20I series 1-2, Ireland lost the opening ODI – a rain-hit contest – by three wickets off the final delivery. The second and third ODIs will be played on January 21 and 23 at Harare Sports Club.

Chris Rogers and Brad Hodge took control on the second day by racing Victoria to 3 for 452 against South Australia

Cricinfo staff31-Oct-2009Victoria 3 for 452 (Hodge 169*, Rogers 149) lead South Australia 292 by 160 runs

Scorecard
Loud message: Chris Rogers started the season in strong form with a century in Adelaide•Fred Kelly

The opener Chris Rogers followed his verbal reminder to the selectors with an on-field one as Victoria took control on the second day by racing to 3 for 452 against South Australia. Rogers deflated the home bowlers in posting 149 while Brad Hodge stepped in with an unbeaten 169 as the Bushrangers collected a strong lead of 160.During the week Rogers said he was disappointed that he wasn’t considered for the Ashes Tests and it is unlikely this innings will change the selectors’ minds, but it kept the pressure on the preferred New South Wales trio of Simon Katich, Shane Watson and Phillip Hughes. Rogers, who grabbed 22 fours as well as a flicked six off Peter George, added a run after tea before driving at a wider ball from Dan Christian and being caught by Aaron O’Brien in the gully.It was Rogers’ first chance, with the dismissal ending his stay after 187 deliveries and stopping the dominant partnership with Hodge of 181, which was achieved at a run-rate of 4.8 an over. Hodge continued to torment the Redbacks despite losing David Hussey, who hit Cullen Bailey to short cover on 46.Hodge had started nervously, surviving a first-ball lbw appeal, and was dropped on 54 by the stand-in captain Daniel Harris, but he showed few concerns once he got going. He lifted three sixes – one brought up his 150 – and found 24 fours during his 221-ball occupation that helped push the Bushrangers to 450 runs in a day.Christian (2 for 101) collected the first breakthrough when Nick Jewell was lbw shortly before lunch following an opening stand of 102. The Bushrangers have had no trouble adapting to the Sheffield Shield format following their Champions League Twenty20 experience and will look to add to their first-innings points over the next two days.

Pakistan will play a three-match ODI series against Netherlands in July before visiting Ireland for two T20Is

Umar Farooq in Lahore03-Oct-2019Netherlands are set to host Pakistan for the first time in 2020. Comprising three ODIs, to be played between July 4 and 9 in Amstelveen, the series will be their longest against a Full Member – outside of the newly promoted Ireland and Afghanistan. Pakistan will then visit Ireland for a two-match T20I series before moving on to England to play three World Test Championship games from July 30 to August 20.

Fixtures

4 July – 1st ODI v Netherlands, VRA Cricket Club, Amstelveen
7 July – 2nd ODI v Netherlands, VRA Cricket Club, Amstelveen
9 July – 3rd ODI v Netherlands, VRA Cricket Club, Amstelveen
12 July – 1st T20I v Ireland, Venue TBA
14 July – 2nd T20I v Ireland, Venue TBA

“We have a long and strong relationship with KNCB [Netherlands Cricket Board] and Ireland Cricket and I think it’s important that we provide these countries much-needed opportunity to compete against Full Members,” a PCB spokesman told ESPNcricinfo. “We had an empty window and there isn’t a better way to support them in their growth by playing them more frequently. The PCB has a long history of helping and encouraging Associate Members and the tour to the Netherlands is part of that tradition.”On our previous trips, we have received tremendous public support who have thronged the stadia to not only watch cricket but also appreciate and encourage the players. I am confident the upcoming tours will further strengthen the bonding and service the purpose.”Pakistan have never played a bilateral series against Netherlands, though the two teams have met in the ICC events – the 1996 and 2003 World Cups and the 2002 Champions Trophy. Pakistan won all three games comprehensively.”Pakistan is one of the most exciting and followed teams in the world and they will add further flavour and context to our domestic season,” Betty Timmer, chair of KNCB, said. “This series will contribute significantly in our endeavours to put together a strong and formidable side for the 13-team ICC ODI League, which commences next year. It will provide the much-required exposure and experience to our talented men’s side and will also help in the promotion and development of the game in our part of the world.”Pakistan’s T20Is against Ireland will be played on July 12 and 14. The two teams have previously featured in a one-off T20I, with Pakistan winning the game by 39 runs on their way to lifting the 2009 World T20 in England.The two teams have already been woven together in history after Ireland – a team that was an Associate in 2007 – beat the former champions in a World Cup game and knocked them out of the tournament. Since then, Pakistan have toured Ireland for bilateral series and had also invited them over in 2014, but just as that tour was coming close to reality, Ireland had to pull out following a terrorist attack at the Karachi airport. Subsequently, Pakistan toured Ireland for the home side’s maiden Test match, which they won by five wickets.”Ireland and Pakistan have a close affinity, both across men’s and women’s cricket, and we are delighted to welcome the top-ranked T20I side to Ireland for what will be an action-packed series,” Richard Holdsworth, performance director at Cricket Ireland, said. “This year we have seen a number of great performances by Ireland and some exciting young talent emerge in the T20 squad. The way to further improve our players is to pit ourselves against the world’s best, and in Pakistan we have that opportunity. The fixtures will be part of a big home season for Ireland, where we are hosting a number of Full Member teams. It is yet another big year to look forward to in Irish cricket.”

Malik scored a fighting 71 not out off 49 but it wasn’t enough

Ekanth18-Feb-2023Martin Guptill smashed a 67-ball 117 against Karachi Kings at their home ground to give Quetta Gladiators their first win of PSL 2023. After being put in, Gladiators were 23 for 4 in the seventh over but Guptill not only helped them recover but also lifted them to a competitive total.He rebuilt the innings with a 69-run stand, off 52 balls, with Iftikhar Ahmed and then dominated the 64-run stand with Mohammad Nawaz, scoring 59 off 20 from his bat. Nawaz’s contribution was three from six balls.In reply, Kings also landed in early trouble. They were 35 for 3 inside the powerplay, and then 76 for 5 in the 11th over before Shoaib Malik and Irfan Khan revived the chase. The pair brought the equation down to 37 runs needed off the last three overs but Naseem Shah and Mohammad Hasnain strangled them. That left Kings needing 24 from the final over, and Odean Smith gave away only 17 to secure a six-run win for the visitors.Earlier, Gladiators were pegged back by Imad Wasim, who trapped Jason Roy lbw on the sweep, deceived Abdul Bangalzai to have him stumped, and bowl Umar Akmal to prise out three wickets in his first nine balls. Sarfaraz Ahmed mistimed a pull to hand Aamer Yamin his first wicket right after a 23-run powerplay.Guptill had opened his account with a couple of boundaries but was tied down by the loss of early wickets. He and Iftikhar Ahmed focused on strike rotation and struck the odd boundary to keep the innings afloat. Iftikhar’s wicket in the 15th over was a setback but Guptill continued finding the occasional boundary and brought up his fifty.Guptill was dropped on 61 off Andrew Tye by Sharjeel Khan, and the batter made full use of that. In the 19th over, he looted 30 runs off Tye with the help of three sixes and as many fours.James Vince scored 22 off 14 balls to give Kings a brisk start but early wickets kept them on the back foot. In the 11th over, Hasnain removed Matthew Wade and Imad Wasim to dent them further.Malik and Irfan fought hard, adding 86 off 54 balls in an unbroken stand for the sixth wicket, but it wasn’t enough.

Despite receiving a two-match ban for her actions, India’s captain doesn’t feel she “said anything wrong to any player or any person”

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2023India captain Harmanpreet Kaur has no regrets over her actions during a fractious third ODI against Bangladesh in Dhaka last month, despite having received a two-match ban for them.”I will not say that I regret anything because at the end of the day as a player you want to see that fair things are happening. As a player you always have the right to express yourself and what you’re feeling,” she told on the sidelines of the Women’s Hundred, where she is playing for Trent Rockets.Related

• Harmanpreet to miss start of Asian Games on disciplinary grounds

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“I don’t think I said anything wrong to any player or any person. I just said what happened on the field. I don’t regret anything.”During the Dhaka ODI, Harmanpreet made her displeasure with the umpiring clear: she reacted to her dismissal by smashing the stumps with her bat, and went on to call the umpiring “pathetic” at the post-match presentation. When players from the two teams posed for end-of-series photographs, Harmanpreet is understood to have shouted out, “bring the umpires too”, suggesting they had been part of the Bangladesh team.Harmanpreet received three demerit points for “showing dissent at an umpiring decision” and one more for “public criticism” of match officials, apart from fines of 50% and 25% of her match fee for the two offences. When a player reaches a total of four or more demerit points within a 24-month period, those points are converted to suspension points, i.e. a ban from one Test, two ODIs or two T20Is, depending on which comes first in the player’s schedule.Harmanpreet, as a result, will miss the first two matches of India’s campaign at the Asian Games T20 competition in Hanghzou in September-October.Following the incident, BCCI secretary Jay Shah had said BCCI president Roger Binny and National Cricket Academy director of cricket VVS Laxman would have a word with Harmanpreet.

India’s captain has praised the Australia allrounder for his willingness to open up about his mental-health issues and take time away from the game

Varun Shetty in Indore13-Nov-20191:50

Decisions to take a break from the game should be respected – Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli has come out in support of Glenn Maxwell following the allrounder’s withdrawal from Australia’s recent series against Sri Lanka for mental-health reasons. Kohli called Maxwell’s openness about his issues “remarkable”, and said he was “absolutely for” players asking for time away from the game in such situations.Maxwell’s withdrawal was met with public backing from Australia coach Justin Langer, captain Aaron Finch, and many other voices that revealed a healthy culture around mental health as an issue. Shortly after Maxwell, the 27-year-old batsman Nic Maddinson also withdrew from the Australia A team, the second such instance in Maddinson’s professional career.Kohli’s words on the issue are among the few originating from the subcontinent, where discussions on mental health are rare, both within and outside cricket circles. Kohli said he experienced this when he was struggling for runs during India’s tour of England in 2014, and didn’t have anyone to confide in.”I’m absolutely for it,” Kohli said on the eve of the first India-Bangladesh Test. “To be very honest, you guys have a job to do, we have a job to do, and everyone is focused on what they need to do. So it’s very difficult for anyone to figure out what’s going on in another person’s mind.”I’ve gone through a phase in my career where I felt like it was the end of the world. In England 2014, I didn’t know what to do, what to say to anyone, and how to speak and how to communicate. And to be honest, I couldn’t have said I’m not feeling great mentally and I need to get away from the game. Because you never know how that’s taken.Getty Images

“So I think these things should be of great importance. Because if you think that a player is important enough, for the team or for Indian cricket to go forward, I think they should be looked after. When you get to the international stage, every player needs that communication, that ability to just speak out.”And I think what Glenn has done is remarkable. And [he has] set the right example for cricketers around the world that if you’re not in the best frame of mind – you try, and try and try, but as human beings you reach a tipping point at some stage or the other. And you need time away from the game. Not to say you give up, but just to gain more clarity.”Numerous Australian cricketers have spoken publicly about mental-health-related issues recently, which follows the noteworthy precedent set around mental health in cricket in England. Moises Henriques, Nicole Bolton and Will Pucovski have all taken time out from the game over the last two years, and England’s Sarah Taylor, one of the biggest stars in modern cricket, retired aged 30 earlier this year after struggles with a long-term anxiety issue.Apart from Kohli’s thoughts on the issue, mental health has not been a widely discussed topic in Indian cricket. The associated taboos and insecurity act as major deterrents against players either coming out or asking for breaks. Kohli said players should be encouraged to be open and seek help when needed.”[…] In my opinion, [a break] is quite acceptable.” he said. “And quite nice to do when you’re not able to carry on any more. So I think these things should be respected and not taken in a negative way at all because this is happening at a human level, it’s got nothing to do with what you do on the field. It’s just not having the capacity any more to deal with things, which I think can happen to any person in any walk of life. I think it should be taken in a very positive way.”

The 36-year old allrounder is focused on being West Indies’ go-to man in the death overs of a T20I

Nagraj Gollapudi13-Jan-2020He might be the oldest member in West Indies’ T20 squad for the Ireland series, but Dwayne Bravo feels like a “kid” after getting the national call-up that will mark his return to international cricket after a nearly four-year long hiatus.According to Bravo, the three Ireland T20Is, which begin on January 15, were on his mind when he came out of retirement in December. So when he got a call from Roger Harper, the former West Indies allrounder and current chairman of selectors, last week, Bravo could not hide his excitement.”It’s a great feeling,” Bravo told the Trinidad-based radio station on Sunday. “I feel like a kid again when I first get a call Mr Harper that welcome back to the team and play international cricket and they were looking forward to have me back. It is something that was always on my mind since the change of leadership and stuff. So just happy I get the opportunity to represent the region again and I am looking forward to doing my best.”Bravo had a difficult 2019 after picking up a finger injury that kept him out of the Caribbean Premier League but he bounced back from that to lead the Maratha Arabians to win the Abu Dhabi T10 title last November.Asked if he might be a bit rusty, Bravo disagreed, pointing out fitness was his primary focus during his rehab. “Yeah, (playing) a lot of cricket is important, but for me because of the experience I’ve gained over the years, I am more concerned about my fitness. Obviously, I had this broken finger, (which) kept getting stronger. I started practising, played a couple of games for Queen’s Park (his local club in Trinidad), but over the years, despite not playing not much cricket, I am still able to go there and compete and contribute in a very good way.”For example in the last T10 league, I hadn’t played any cricket in about four months prior to that and still was able to go there and deliver and also win the title. It is just happy time for me. Since I announce my return in December, my mind and my motivation was on this series and now that I’m selected I am very happy.”Bravo added that he is a “smarter” bowler now, even if the pace has dipped. “I’m a better bowler, I’m a better all-round cricketer. Obviously I’m older, so I will not be as quick I used to be before, but I am also very smarter and have a bigger knowledge on the game.”“We lack a proper death-over specialist”
With the T20 World Cup scheduled in Australia in October, Bravo’s return is clearly an indication that Harper’s panel wants to not just blend experience and youth, but also plug holes. Harper had said that Bravo had been brought back with the “specific” intention of being West Indies’ death-overs specialist.Bravo is happy to take up the responsibility. “Death bowling is an art,” he said. “Not many people around the world have really nailed death bowling to the T. If you ask anyone in world cricket to name five death bowlers in the last decade, definitely my name will come along with Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell Starc.Dwayne Bravo celebrates in his trademark style•MSL

“It is not an easy time of the game, that’s why it is called death. A special skill is required to bowl in those situations. Most times, if you have the ball in the death overs, and you don’t win the game, everyone turn to you, and say, “okay, it is because of the last over”. But you don’t win or lose a game in the last over. So many times, I win a game in the last over and no one says anything. I have defended 6 runs in 6 balls. I have defended 11 runs in 6 balls. I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. My stats over the years are there for everyone to see. Like I said, if you were to name three or five death-over specialists my name will be there.”According to Bravo West Indies’ bowlers have struggled to close out games, especially during the World Cup and even in the recent series against India in December. Now that he is back, he wants to mentor the other bowlers and teach them the tricks that could deployed at death.”Recently that is where West Indies did falter,” he said. “If you look at the 50-overs World Cup, if you look at the series in India, both in T20s and in ODIs, we lack a really, really proper death-overs specialist.”Again this is my motivation also to try and work with current bowlers. There’s [Sheldon] Cottrell, there’s Keemo Paul, there’s Alzarri Joseph, there’s Oshane Thomas, there’s Kesrick Williams. Collectively all of us have to get better, myself included. But with the experience that I have, I can get them to understand the importance of certain deliveries and when to bowl certain deliveries and work on a better finishing game plan.”Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Sammy and Andre Russell shake a leg•Getty Images

T20 World Cup – ‘playing by ear’Bravo said that he and Harper had not spoken about the T20 World Cup, where West Indies will defend their crown. The side still has 18 matches to go before that tournament and Bravo doesn’t want to look too far ahead, though he did reiterate his “full commitment” to the West Indies.”We never discuss anything like that (on T20 World Cup selection). Yes, a World Cup year, but it is only in October,” he said. “There’s this series and there’s a Sri Lanka series right after. I guess if I do well in this series, chances are I might be selected for the next series. It is just a matter of playing it by ear, series by series. Obviously they will be trying players to see what is the best combination and the best squad they that they think and select come October. Starting off with Ireland series is just one step to something positive in the making.”“Looking forward to play with Gayle in maroon”It was in 2013 when the cream of the Caribbean players including Bravo, Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine last played together in a West Indies team. Recently Gayle commented that he would keep his options open for the T20 World Cup as he continues keeping himself fit by playing the franchise-based tournaments around the world. Bravo said he still was confident he would link up with Gayle soon.”Well, he hasn’t gone anyway so I don’t think he has to make a comeback. He’s been there all the time as the Universe Boss as we call him. He is our leader. He is our real, real leader after Brian Lara. Yes, there was Chanderpaul and Sarwan, but Chris Gayle is the next real batting icon of the Caribbean that all the players look upto. He’s still playing.”I’m looking forward to playing with him once again in the maroon. That will be good to see the Universe Boss and the Champion on the field again along with Russell and Narine – all these players who we all wanted to play. That’s all we ever wanted to do. The Universe Boss will be there and about. Obviously he is on the other side of 40, so it is just a matter of managing him properly and picking different series to play him.”