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Courtney Browne was a virtual spectator during his recent trip to Australia.

But the Barbados wicketkeeper/batsman believes his presence served its purpose and he remains quietly confident that he can still get a further crack at international cricket.

As a back-up keeper to Ridley Jacobs, Browne knew his chances were going to be restricted during a tour that included very few first- class matches.

As it turned out, he did not play in any of the five Tests and appeared in two first-class matches.

"From the beginning you knew that it was either or," Browne admitted yesterday.

From Brisbane to Perth to Adelaide to Melbourne to Sydney, he remained a West Indies reserve.

But it was far from a frustrating exercise as far as he was concerned.

"As a guy who was around for a while, there were always things to do a lot of training, a lot of net sessions," he told WEEKENDSPORT after a training session with the Barbados team in Queen's Park.

"There was always something to do to pass the time. Obviously, it wasn't a good feeling, but you just had to deal with that and to be there to support the other guys."

When the West Indies toured England last summer, Jacobs was the only keeper picked and could not be dropped in spite of seemingly modest performances.

In Australia, with Browne waiting in the wings, he returned to the outstanding form that he first displayed when he made his entry to Test cricket just over two years ago.

Did Browne believe his presence in Australia had something to do with Jacobs' turnaround?

"Obviously it had to," he said. "Once there is competition around, it always brings out the best in a person."

Browne returns to duty for Barbados today in the Busta Cup knowing that outstanding performances this season could lead to recognition.

"There is always a possibility," he said.

He also pointed to the fact that he gained a recall after three years in the wilderness.

The 30-year-old Browne played the last of his 13 Tests against Sri Lanka in June of 1997 and was brought back for the Mini World Cup in Kenya last October following impressive work in the last few seasons.

"You just have to be there and performing so that if the opportunity arises, you are there to grab it," he said.

As a senior player for Barbados, now in his 11th season at regional level, he believes he has a bigger role to play.

"It is about performance from here for me personally and for the team," he said.

"One of the things that I would like to see is Barbados' cricket being strong again. It is very important for the senior players around the Caribbean to really push our cricket. That is the only way that our cricket is going to get back to the sort of level that the Caribbean people would like to see. I am here to perform and help the younger players in the Barbados team as much as possible."

© The Barbados Nation