A SLOWER ball that could deceive the best international batsman in the world, jaw-dropping catches and run outs in the field and dancing after grabbing a wicket that will leave everyone with a smile on their face. These are the moments you think about when you hear the name Dwayne Bravo.

Bravo’s illustrious West Indies career began in 2004 when he was selected for the regional team which included West Indies legend Brian Lara.

Bravo, 37, was a consistent member of both the Test and One Day International (ODI) West Indies teams showcasing his extraordinary athletic and all-around ability.

Bravo first played for West Indies in April 2004 in an ODI contest against England in Guyana, before making his Test debut at the home of cricket three months later against England at Lord’s Cricket Ground.

His Test career ended in 2010 after playing 40 matches and his 164-match ODI career spanned ten years until 2014.

His T20 West Indies career bowled off in 2006 and it’s the format that has made him a global star especially in West Indies and cricket-crazy India.

Bravo helped West Indies win World T20 titles in 2012 and 2016. Bravo has made a name for himself in T20 cricket by playing in every popular franchise cricket tournament in the world including the Indian Premier League and the Big Bash in Australia.

The West Indies-Pakistan T20 series which ended on August 3 was Bravo’s last match for West Indies on Caribbean soil.

On the day of the final T20 match, West Indies T20 captain Kieron Pollard confirmed this in a video posted by Cricket West Indies media. Bravo, however, is expected to feature at the International Cricket Council T20 World Cup in October/November hosted by the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

THE EARLY YEARS

Bravo grew up in Santa Cruz, a community that has produced many of TT's sporting heroes including the likes of Lara, track and field legend Ato Boldon and former TT footballer Arnold Dwarika.

Santa Cruz is where Queen’s Park Cricket Club coach Charles Guillen first saw Bravo. It did not take him long to realise Bravo was a class above the rest.

“My first sighting of Dwayne (is when) I was playing for Queen’s Park in Santa Cruz,” Guillen said.

“He was a child, he was probably around eight or nine years old. I was distracted from my game when I was looking at this little boy on the basketball court (playing windball cricket) and his talent was very obvious at that very early age.”

Guillen asked Bravo’s family to enrol him at Queen’s Park.

“I invited him to come to our coaching school. I was working under Bryan Davis at the time…his father brought him to the (Queen’s Park) Oval and the relationship started there.”

Guillen added, “It was very evident how much he enjoyed what he did and it was also very evident that he was destined because of his keenness. He was one of the most talented. There was a youngster called Zaheer Ali (also)…that team had a lot of little talented boys, but I played Dwayne in that team when he was 11 and Zaheer was a 14 or 15-year-old. Dwayne was able to