ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2021

November 6, 2021

Kieron Pollard

Dwayne Bravo

Sheikh Zayed Stadium

West Indies

Post Match Media Conference

Australia 161/2 (16.2) - West Indies 157/7 (20)

Q. Bravo, you have left a big legacy behind.

DWAYNE BRAVO: Thank you. Being around the international circuit to represent my country for, let's say, 18 years -- 18 years, I'm very grateful to represent the West Indies for so long. There are some strong friendships with great people and some great players, and I'm very lucky to be playing this game.

Q. I went back to look at an interview I did with you in 2004, before you got selected for the West Indies team and asked you to take us through your career and how you got into playing, and you mentioned Charles Golin (ph). So I would like to know, what would you like to say to him now after 18 years with the West Indies team.

DWAYNE BRAVO: Yeah, I'm going to say thanks to Charles. I think he saw my talent at the age of six, and who knows, I don't know where I would have been if it wasn't for Charles spotted me in Santa Cruz playing amongst my friends on a tennis court and give me the opportunity to join the best cricket club in the country which is Queens Park Cricket Club.

So at an early age, I had my foundation and discipline built into me and the love for the game was always there. Charles, wherever you are, thank you very much from the bottom of my heart and on by half of my family as well.

There's a lot of people that have played a big part in my career. Growing up, obviously, Lara, my childhood mentor, Bridget Smith (ph), my first captain for the international team and the Broad brothers, these people play a big part in my upbringing as a player, and instilled early discipline and get me to understand the importance of playing the game hard and fair, with passion, with a lot of pride. And as a kid, that is all I wanted to do is play cricket and I'm very grateful that I was able to fulfill my childhood dream.

Q. I know Bravo is four years older than you and you grew up playing cricket, what does Bravo's career mean to you?

KIERON POLLARD: Obviously it means a lot. What Bravo has done for West Indies cricket and sort of bringing all-rounders in the Caribbean when he started is paramount. He spoke about the discipline that was instilled in him and he was able to bring that discipline and enthusiasm and courage to each and every team he represented. We are fortunate and lucky to have an individual like him amongst us the last 18 years or so.

My sort of first interaction with him would have been Queens park and Trinidad and Tobago cricket, but watching him before, like I said, I'm younger than him, the way that he celebrated his wickets, the play that he batted with, those are the things that I remember the most. Getting an opportunity now to share a friendship with him, I think that has exceeded everything that I've thought about.

So for me personally, wish him all the best. Obviously we'll still be seeing him on the cricketing circuit and I'm sure he has a passion to give back to West Indies Cricket, especially. Long may his career continue outside of international cricket, and thank you for being a great role model and mentor for us in the Caribbean. I'm sure there are youngsters in the Caribbean still looking up to you and want to tap into the brain and knowledge that you have over these past 18 years.

Q. Is there any specific reason to retire and what about franchise cricket? Would you like to continue?

DWAYNE BRAVO: Yeah, I will continue playing franchise cricket for a few more years as long as my body will allow me to. My aim was to retire a few years ago, but with a change of presidency and change of leadership comes a change of heart, and I wanted to give back to West Indies because I was still in a good place physically and enjoy my cricket.

I had a brief chat with Pollard and said, would I like to come back and play in the shortest format, which is my specialty. And they gave me the opportunity to play again, and I'm very grateful for that.

Obviously one year was hampered by the pandemic which none of us had control over but I commit myself to play for another two years for West Indies and obviously one was spoiled by the pandemic.

So I think this was the right moment for me to walk away from the game, and allow the next generation and young players who I share a very good friendship with to come through. They still see me around but more passing information around as policy and trying to give my experience back to the next group of players, and hopefully they can also have a 12 to 18-year career as well.

Q. What was a special moment in your career? And your friendship with Pollard, it's so long, so how do you express your friendship with Pollard?

DWAYNE BRAVO: First question, what was it? Best memories? I have a few. Obviously getting my test cap at Lord's, walking on the field for the first time. That was a special moment. Obviously my childhood hero, Lara, was a captain. That was very special. Winning the ICC Champions Trophy in 2004 was another specialty moment for me. My first test against South Africa, another special moment. And obviously the two T20 World Cup was a special moment for me. It was good that I was able to have some success throughout my career.

In terms of friendship with Polly, as he said before, I'm his senior but when he come into cricket at a very young age, we all spotted his talent and his ability. I wish he could have played some test cricket. He didn't even know he was good enough or qualified to play.

But to see the way he went on and become a superstar in the game, and regardless of what people might say with him not playing test cricket, he has his own legacy, and he's a superstar of the game and we should be grateful, I am grateful to have him as a teammate and more so a friend. Very rarely we see individual from the same country basically almost around the same age, same type of players, share the same kind of bond that we do because all we want is the best for each other and encourage each other, keep pushing each other.

So I'm very happy to have someone like that that I can call as a friend, not just a teammate, but a friend. He's one of the main reasons why I also came out every time to give my best chance to see if we could push for another World Cup title, but it wasn't to be. But I'm still very happy with the way how we lead West Indies cricket in the last two years, and West Indies need strong leadership, and he's a strong leader. We know this wasn't meant to be, but I know as an individual, he will bounce back strong with his character, and I'm very happy that I was able to be a part of this journey with him.

Q. Has Chris also announced his retirement officially?

DWAYNE BRAVO: He said half of it. He halfway retires. He still has some cricket left. I'm not sure what he's decided yet, but yeah.

Q. A glowing tribute to your countryman, tough loss, but how do you sum up the tournament?

KIERON POLLARD: The words remain the same. It has been disappointing. Having said that, some things were meant to be and some things were not meant to be and this is one of them.

As I also said, this is an opportunity for us to think about what some of the guys in our dressing room would have done for West Indies cricket over a generation in the last ten years or so.

We have not just done it in the Caribbean, we have done it all over the world and changed the face of T20 cricket when everyone thought that it was going to be another sort of hit-and-giggle. We set out some good moments to think about and cherish, but overall, as a campaign, it has been difficult, and these things happen. One tournament doesn't make cricketers bad people. I don't like the idea of chastising and some of the words and some of the things being said because of a campaign.

At the end of the day we are sport men and we come out and give our heart and every time we step on the cricket field, I can assure that 100 percent was given but it was not meant to be.

Q. Who do you see as the guy who can take up the Bravo role on the team? Who will be the guy to hit sixes lower down the order? Who do you both see?

DWAYNE BRAVO: I don't think we are lacking in that department. Phillip and Akeal (ph), you know, there are some good talent coming through and I'm very excited about that. Guys like Dominic Drakes and Odean Smith or Romario Shepherd, these are good quality all-rounders, and also young players with experience and guidance. I think they have the ability. It's just a matter of allowing them to be themselves and create their own legacy and create their own greatness with the guidance of myself and Polly, Chris, the senior players, to make sure that we keep these young players hungry and learning and pass on our information.

We are not lacking the talent, that one thing for sure, especially in this format.

Q. We have seen some exciting talent in the Caribbean, what would be your message to all the youngsters who are dreaming to replicate or replace what Chris Gayle or Dwayne Bravo did for the West Indies, to take that extra leadership in that international circuit?

KIERON POLLARD: For me personally, just tell them that CPL is not the be-all and end-all. There's a lot of higher, better, sort of cricket around the world. And as individuals, we need to lift our standards and not settle and be contented.

My message would be we have to work harder and we need to put in a lot of thought in what we do, and again, be disciplined in what we do. I think we have a mindset at times to be contented but as I said, coming to CPL, dominating CPL is not the be-all and end-all. You need to come and try to dominate on the world stage and the world stage is at World Cups, IPL team, IPL franchises, where all the best players around the world gather as one.

There's a lot of work to be done, we are not lacking for talent but the work needs to start now and we need to be honest and up front about it, and we need to challenge ourselves.

Q. Can we see you in a coaching role in the future? What are the plans?

DWAYNE BRAVO: Definitely at some point if I decide to walk away from the game finally, I would love to get back in the coaching department, so I already started to put things in place for when it's that time. Definitely you will see me around. Like I said, cricket has given me everything. Cricket has given me the life I always wanted for myself and my family.

So I think it's only fair that I love to give back to the game that has given me so much. Again, I keep encourage myself because of the talent I see coming through in West Indies, and whatever team I play for around the word, so definitely you will see me involved.

Q. How do you see things as you end your World Cup campaign today, and who do you see winning this World Cup?

KIERON POLLARD: Again, obviously we brought in seniors and experienced players in this campaign. We thought we are going to be the ones to get us over line to try to get a title, and it didn't happen. These things happen. It's not the first time you don't qualify in a tournament or anything like that, and it's not the first time guys would have failed throughout the campaign.

We gave it our best shot and our best shot was not good enough, and we accept that. So it's about moving on now and trying to rebuild from here and using the knowledge of some of these guys and the youngsters to come. So let's see what happens in the future.