Jason Holder could be the next Curtly Ambrose: Dwayne Bravo

West Indies skipper Dwayne Bravo said they have tried to mold 21-year-old Jason Holder into the next Curtly Ambrose.

Dwayne Bravo said Jason Holder (above) is a very laid back guy © Getty Images

TRENDING NOW

London: Jun 7, 2013
 
West Indies skipper Dwayne Bravo said they have tried to mold 21-year-old Jason Holder into the next Curtly Ambrose.
 
“Yeah, Jason is a very laid back guy. He loves cricket, he enjoys cricket. We have tried to mold him to be the next Curtly Ambrose.  It’s been a while since we’ve had a fast bowler with his height coming across the region. Normally we have Fidel Edwards, Jerome Taylor, Kemar Roach, Jean Paul, all maybe five feet and under, and there is not a traditional West Indies to have Curtly Ambrose, Walsh, Michael Holding those guys. So Holder is the one we have to try to groom to be our next Curtly Ambrose, and tall like this will actually do well for him,” Bravo was quoted as by www.icc-cricket.com.
 
When asked about how are the preparations ahead of clash against Pakistan, Bravo replied, “We are really looking forward to it. It’s a very good team. We respect the Pakistan team, and we are really excited about the tournament on the whole. I just can’t wait to get the first game out of the way. It’s my first time as captain in a major tournament as this, and I have a very good team, and good players, and I’m looking forward to leading the guys out on the park.” 
 
“Our aim is to get off to a good start. That is the most important thing in a short tournament like this, to try to win the first game.  As I said before, it’s a very good team we’re coming up against, and we have to play our best cricket in order to be successful. Hopefully things will go our way,” he added.
 
Bravo took over the leadership from Darren Sammy ahead of ICC Champions Trophy 2013.
    
“My captaincy history in terms of records is good, in terms of winning. Most of the times I was captain, I won. But like I said, I’m new to this format. I don’t have much experience as a captain, but I’ve been around the game a long time, and I have a lot of captains on my team. Chris Gayle, a former captain, Ramnaresh Sarwan, and Denesh Ramdin, also Darren Sammy, so there are a lot of players in the dressing room that I can get information from and I’ll be looking forward to their assistance at all times.” 
 
“We’re going to play the brand of cricket that the world will love to see us play, with flair, enjoyment, having fun, right attitude, and we’ll give 100 per cent at all times and let the results take care of itself.”
 
Asked to describe his style of captaincy, Bravo said, “A well-respected captain, leads from the front. Also in terms of being on the field, I am an attacking captain by nature. I like to attack.  I like to look for wickets. I read the game a lot and I’m very pro-active. So you will see some strange placing in my system, strange moves, but sometimes if it does work, I look like a genius, but if it doesn’t, then you guys are going to have a go at me.”            
 
“But, yeah, I think I’m the type of person that trusts my instincts and believes in my decision that I make and I will stand by it. I have the right team, the right players to do the job that I ask for, so hopefully things can work in our way.”   
 
“To be honest, it was never my dream (to lead West Indies). My dream was to play for West Indies and do well for West Indies team. My coach once told me it was my destiny to captain the West Indies team, and now that the opportunity has come, I’m really thankful and appreciate it. I know this job is not an easy job, but it’s an honor to be a West Indies captain for all the greats that have played the game and all the former captains.”            
 
He added, “So it’s a good achievement for me personally. Like I said, I’m young, I’m a young captain, and I’ll be looking forward to all the help from all the senior players. Like I said, I’ve been around a long time.  I’ve been in dressing rooms with Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Stephen Fleming, so those are players and former players that I learned a lot from, and definitely hope their experience will rub off on me. Hopefully I’ll have success like them also.” 
 
Bravo said he respects Pakistan’s bowling attack, which he thinks is expected from the Asian team.
 
“We respect the attack. They have a very good bowling attack, and that is expected from Pakistan. Over the years the history of Pakistan, they have good seam bowlers and obviously one of the best in the world are in their lineup also. It’s good.” 
 
“Our aim and our style is we’re going to try to make sure that we have the best batting lineup to try to counter their bowling attack. We have the best batsmen in the world, so they’ll be aware of that also. So, yeah, it should be a very good game. Both teams know if both teams actually turn up on this day, it will be a cracker of a game, and hopefully it will be good for the fans. And like I said, at the end of the day, let’s see who will win.” 
 
Bravo asserted that playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) increases the self-confidence of the players.
 
“I think whatever opportunity you get to play cricket at a competitive level, it’s always important before you go into any tournament. It gives you self confidence; it gives you opportunity to know where you are in the game. The conditions, yes, it’s obviously different in India and England, but this time of year they can see on TV. The conditions are not that conducive for seam bowling; it’s more a flat field, so it favors the batsmen a bit more. So untraditional English conditions, but like I said, we are battlers. It’s good for us that the ball is not moving around as much. The weather is good, so hopefully it stays like this for the rest of the tournament, and may the best team win the tournament.”
 
Children across West Indies have been inspired by their nation’s performance in the ICC World T20 and the West Indian cricketers doing well in the IPL.
 
“It all started from the T20 World Cup. Most of the kids gravitated to our dancing more than our playing, but it’s good that we can actually do something on the cricket field to get the kids again looking up to us. They look at cricket and the IPL, they look at the Champions Trophy also, so they are aware of the players and aware of the players’ names. At that young age, it’s very good to have kids involved into sports and into cricket. ”