Bravo appointed vice-captain

West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo has been formally appointed vice-captain for the tour of Zimbabwe, the West Indies Cricket Board announced today. Bravo will deputise under Chris Gayle, who is filling in as captain in Ramnaresh Sarwan's absence.

Bravo, whose captaincy experience is limited to a trial match played in Trinidad recently, admitted he didn't expect to be named, but was upbeat about the challenge.

"It is really a great feeling to be given the vice-captaincy," Bravo was quoted as saying in the Trinidad Guardian. "I never thought that this would come my way at such a young age but it has and I intend to give it my best shot. Gayle can expect 100% support from me on and off the field of play."

Bravo welcomed Gayle's appointment, saying he had the ability to get the best out of the players.Gayle led West Indies to a 2-1 win against England in the ODIs after a poor Test series earlier this year.

"Gayle has a great record as captain and the players respect him," Bravo said. "He has the support of the guys and he gets them to perform. I personally have a lot of respect for him and he also respects me and knows what I stand for. I think we have good camaraderie going between us and this will only help the team."

Though the West Indians are returning after a lay-off since the ICC World Twenty20 in September, Bravo expected the side to get into rhythm quickly. He was confident about his personal form as well, after a satisfying outing in the recent KFC Cup.

"Physically and mentally I am feeling great and during the KFC Cup and the camp I was hitting the ball well and also bowling good spells. This gives me a lot of confidence going into the series and hopefully I can get good returns that would help me when we visit South Africa after [the Zimbabwe tour]."