Related Links : 2007 World Cup : Ian Bradshaw
Left Arm Medium Pacer Ian Bradshaw has announced his retirement from International Cricket following the footsteps of his Skipper Brian Lara. Bradshaw’s retirement comes as a surprise as he would have made it to next month’s England tour considering that he is a natural swing bowler. His announcement comes after a disappointing exit for West Indies in their first World Cup as hosts.
The 32-year-old from Christ Church, Barbados had played 62 ODIs ever since making a late debut in 2004. His last appearance was the Super Eights Match against South Africa at Grenada in which he was pounded for 73 runs in 10 overs. The left armer ended his career with 78 wickets at a modest average of 29.47 but the economy rate of his has been good enough at 4.34. Bradshaw’s high point was the unbroken 9th wicket partnership with Courtney Browne that miraculously helped Windies clinch the ICC Champions Trophy in 2004.
Bradshaw has been only a little over military medium but he was always liked by his captains for his nagging accuracy and his commitment whether it was with the ball or the bat. He was never one who used to throw away his wicket at any stage of the match. His career also included 5 Test Matches in which he picked up 9 wickets. That is one version of the game where he struggled because of the lack of penetration in his bowling. He has been one of those rare left arm new bowlers for the West Indies.
Coach Bennett King resigns
In another development in West Indies Cricket following their exit from the ongoing World Cup, Coach Bennett King has resigned for the failure. It is believed that King will be staying on for a month to help the WICB to set up a Cricket Academy. King is a 42-year-old who comes from Queensland in Australia. He has the honour of being the first Foreign Coach, to be more precise, the first non Caribbean for West Indies, serving them for 3 years. Interestingly Bennett King didn’t even play first class cricket!