Darren Bravo

Full Name            : Darren Michael Bravo 

Date of Birth        : 6th February 1989

Place of  Birth      : Santa Cruz, Trinidad and Tobago 

Height               : 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 

Batting Style        : Left-Handed 

Bowling Style        : Left Arm Medium 

Role                 : Batsman 

Test Debut (cap 287) : 15th November 2010 v Sri Lanka 

ODI Debut (cap 146)  : 26th June 2009 v India 

Darren Michael Bravo  is a West Indian cricketer who plays domestic cricket for Trinidad and Tobago and has appeared for the West Indies cricket team in One Day International (ODI) cricket. A left-handed batsman,is slow, focused and determined. like his role model he too is a strong off side plater his batting style has drawn comparisons with Brian Lara. In fact, Brian Lara and Bravo's mother are first cousins meaning Bravo and Brian Lara are first cousins once removed. Darren Bravo is also the younger half brother of Dwayne Bravo.

Having played under-19 level cricket for Trinidad and Tobago Bravo made his first team debut in January 2007, he scored seven in a one-day match against Guyana. He  made his first-class debut three days later against the Leeward Islands and scored eight. After another single figure score in his next match against the Windward Islands he made no other appearances in the 2006/07 season.  Darren Bravo returned to the under-19 team for the TCL Under-19 Challenge and finished the tournament as leading run scorer, in five matches scoring 419 runs at an average of 59.85.

In preparation for the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup the West Indies under-19s competed in the 2007/08 KFC Cup. Bravo played for the side in two matches, the first saw his team dismissed for a one-day record low total of 18, Bravo was one of six players who was dismissed without scoring. Bravo described it as a learning experience saying: "Collins was getting a lot of movement and Edwards was bowling very fast. It was difficult to get them away but the experience was good for us and it came in handy in the other games."At the under-19 World Cup Bravo played in all five of West Indies matches scoring 165 runs at 55.In the plate final against Nepal he took three wickets for nine runs (3/9) and scored 24 not out. Bravo finished the 2007/08 season with two first-class matches but failed to score a substantial innings with a best of 29.

In October 2008 Bravo was a member of the Trinidad and Tobago squad for the Stanford Series. Having failed to play in the first match against the Super Stars he came into the side for the next match against Middlesex and scored 27 not out including hitting the winning runs with a six over long-on.  Darren Bravo domestic form in the 2008/09 season was much improved from the previous season, in the WICB Cup which Trinidad and Tobago won he scored 41 in the semi-final run chase against Jamaica and added 20 in the final against Barbados. In first-class cricket he scored 97 against Barbados, in a team score of 264 he was the last man out after 330 minutes of batting. Later in the month of January he scored a maiden first-class century against the Windward Islands, his innings of 105 included 13 fours and a six. The form led to his selection for West Indies A however an injury meant he missed the fixture against the England tourists. On his return to first-class cricket Bravo scored a second century of the season, against Barbados he added 111 and shared a 250 run partnership for the fourth wicket with Kieron Pollard. In the following match against Jamaica he scored 41 and 70 also equalling a Trinidad and Tobago record by taking five catches in the second innings.Older brother Dwayne praised his form saying: " Darren Bravo had been good with the bat and I am happy to see that he has been very consistent this season". Dwayne failed to pass 30 in his final four matches of the season but still ended the season with 605 runs at 43.21.

In June 2009 Bravo was called-up to the West Indies squad for the first two ODIs of the series with India. Darren Bravo made his international debut in the first ODI at Sabina Park scoring 19 from 16 balls including two fours from the first two deliveries he faced. On debut Bravo scored 58 from 159 balls. In the 3 match test series against Sri Lanka 2010 Bravo scored 58 in the 1st test, 80 in the 2nd test and 68 in the third test. This gives him a test average of 68.66.

Records

Test Centuries

The following table illustrates a summary of the Test centuries scored by Darren Bravo.

In the column Runs, * indicates being not out. 

The column title Match refers to the Match Number of his career. 

Test Centuries of Darren Bravo 

# Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year Result 

1 195 10  Bangladesh Mirpur, Bangladesh Shere Bangla National Stadium 2011 Won 

2 136 12  India Kolkata, India Eden Gardens 2011 Lost 

3 166 13  India Mumbai, India Wankhede Stadium 2011 Drawn