“I am incredibly honoured to have received this nomination. It’s definitely a nice feeling to be in the same company with some of the best athletes in T&T.”
That’s how T&T and West Indies left-handed batsman Darren Bravo responded to news that he was the T&T Cricket Board of Control’s (TTCB) choice for the First Citizens Sports Foundation Sportsman of the Year Award 2015.
The awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on Sunday, at Queen’s Hall.
Bravo was unclear how he should react to the news since this is his first nomination. “It’s my first nomination. I think it’s a huge honour and privilege. I’m very thankful to my family, friends, coaches, teammates and everyone else who played a part in ensuring that I was able to achieve most of my goals for 2015.
I was actually driving when I got the call,” said Bravo.
He continued: “When I look back at the 2015 season, I must say it was challenging both on and off the field. I think now, I’ve reached the stage where I understand my game inside out and hopefully moving forward I can really and truly realise my full potential. The main lesson I learnt was that you can’t achieve anything without putting in the hard work, as well as having dedication and commitment. At times we tend to take the little things for granted and that’s a big no. I will like to take this opportunity to congratulate each and everyone who have been nominated for this prestigious award and hopefully we can continue to make our country proud in our respective fields.”
In the TTCB’s nomination biography of Bravo, he was described as “a game changer for his teams at different levels during 2015”, and that he consistently rose in the top order with a series of spectacular and trophy-winning displays.
During the home test series against England held between April-May last year, he scored 237 runs. His knocks of 69 and 82 against the tourists at St. George’s and Bridgetown, respectively, were all part of a surprising 1-1 draw earned by West Indies. Bravo also enjoyed a brief, but solid ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, where he scored an unbeaten 49 in a 150-run victory over Pakistan at Christchurch.
He also played major roles in this country’s Nagico Super50 tournament triumph at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain, back in February, scoring 109 runs, including 55 in a 17-run first round victory versus Jamaica–as well as hitting 291 runs to help the T&T Red Steel capture the Caribbean Premier League title.