Bravo ignores Lara comparisons

Darren Bravo is determined to make a name for himself, despite regular comparisons to his cousin, Brian Lara.

Bravo provided some of the few bright spots in the West Indies' opening match of their tour of England on Monday against Sussex at Hove.

Bravo scored an unbeaten 19 from 60 balls in the West Indies' 90 for three, the drawn match beset by freezing temperatures and plenty of rain, and restricted to just 34 overs spread over three days.

He provided a glimpse of the attacking elan which has so many purring those Lara comparisons, cracking three fours.

However, he is refusing to think about what others have had to say.

"I often seem to be spoken of as 'the next Brian Lara', but I can't really focus on that," he said.

"I just have to go out there and play my natural game every time I bat."

The end game for Bravo, whose statistics are almost the equal of Lara's at a relative stage in their careers, is to reach a point where he is known not as an uncanny imitation of someone else but in his own right.

He added: "I just have to go out there, believing in myself and continuing to make a name for myself."

As preparation for the first Test against England on May 17, the Windies can only hope Northampton serves up something more substantial and useful.

They are due to play England Lions there from Thursday to Sunday, and already the weather forecast is not enticing.

The tourists are crossing their fingers too about the onward progress of Narsingh Deonarine and Assad Fudadin - both delayed by visa issues in Jamaica - and Marlon Samuels, whose whereabouts appear to be a mystery since he concluded his Indian Premier League stint with Pune Warriors last week.

They could at least leave Hove, though, confident key batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul has mere "bruising" to his left hand, having appeared to jar his thumb and index finger while batting on Monday.