Windies robbed of influential Bravo

Dwayne Bravo's stint as overseas player in the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash ended with him sustaining a thumb injury

West Indies have suffered a significant blow ahead of their five-match one-day international series against Australia with all-rounder Dwayne Bravo ruled out due to a thumb injury.

Bravo, who will also miss both Twenty20 internationals, has failed to recover sufficiently from the injury sustained when hit on the hand batting for Victoria against Tasmania in Australia’s KFC Twenty20 Big Bash competition on January 15.

The 26-year-old has been replaced in the Windies squad by left-handed batsman Wavell Hinds.

However, West Indies expect Bravo to be fit well before the start of the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 in the Caribbean in April, and should return to the senior line-up in time for Zimbabwe's tour of the West Indies later this month.

Bravo has hit 1,511 runs in ODIs, including one century and four fifties.