Holding wants Bravo in

Michael Holding, the former West Indian fast bowler, has called for the reinstatement of Dwayne Bravo, the allrounder, to the West Indies team.

Holding said Bravo would bring more options to the team in the series against Australia and should replace the out-of-sorts Jermaine Lawson. "I think Bravo just offers more in terms of consistency and pressure because Jermaine is just not into gear at the moment," the Weekend Australian quoted Holding as saying. "Corey Collymore was outstanding. He hit the seam and made the batsmen play and really troubled them. Unfortunately, we weren't able to capitalise on that because the other guys just let the pressure off at different times. Having Bravo in the team just gives the bowling a better balance in my opinion."

Bravo has managed to establish himself as a genuine allrounder in his seven Tests for the West Indies, taking 20 wickets and scoring 397 runs, including one century. He was however overlooked by tour selectors as West Indies sought to field four fast bowlers for the opening Test at the Gabba.

Holding said the West Indies bowling was lacking the edge necessary to stamp its authority on the batting side. "Our inability to finish a side or really take advantage once we get on top is certainly a problem. Our batting looks very settled at the moment but our bowlers are still pretty inexperienced."

"It showed on the first day and it showed against the tailenders. Against the top order they kept the ball up and in the right area most of the time but once they got to the lower order and the batting got a little unorthodox, [Darren] Powell, [Fidel] Edwards and Lawson just lost their line and length completely."

Holding said Edwards was the only one of the current West Indies battery with genuine pace and should be encouraged to bowl quickly. "He is probably the only one with the genuine, raw pace and you never want to take that away from a young fast bowler. You can work on things like line and length, but you can't teach speed. You either have speed or you don't."