West Indies head coach Phil Simmons has expressed optimism that the team has added needed firepower to its batting line-up following the return of talented batsman Darren Bravo, ahead of the New Zealand series.

The 31-year-old Bravo, along with Shimron Hetmyer and Keemo Paul, declined not to take part in the team’s tour of England earlier this year, citing health concerns due to the ongoing pandemic. 

Despite winning the first Test with a commendable performance, the West Indies batting line-up went through its typical struggles in the next two, as the series went to England 2-1.  The West Indies's batting performance in the England series was among their worst on tour since 2000, with the top-6 averaging just 28.66 and no century in the entire three-game series.

With such performances, it is little wonder Simmons is excited to get back a couple of his key batsmen.  He is confident Bravo and Hetmyer can make a difference.

“He’s (Bravo) has always been important, to the Test team especially, and it’s good to have him and Shimron back in the squad,” Simmons told members of the media on Friday.

“Where the batting is concerned it will be pressure on people to hold their places, in order to hold their places, they will have to score runs and that is a big plus for us,” he added.

“He is a huge plus for us in these situations.  He has done well here.  He is one of the only batsmen that have high averages in international cricket, so he knows what it takes to score big runs at this level so it’s good to have him back.”