Bradshaw captained West Indies under-19s during their tour of England in 1993, playing three youth Tests and two One-day Internationals. However, as he failed to impress the national selectors of Barbados enough to get first class time for Barbados before January 1998, he was also out of the regional selectors' thoughts, even though he captained Barbados from 2000–01 onwards.

However, Bradshaw did not play a single match, returning to Carib Beer Cup cricket to take six wickets in the Carib Beer Challenge final, where Barbados beat Jamaica.

Debut years

In January 2004, Bradshaw was named in West Indies' 15-man ODI squad which played South Africa, as "reward for good performances during the Red Stripe Bowl", where Bradshaw had taken five wickets for 22 runs to be named Man of the Match in the semi-final.

In and Out from the squad

He was given another ODI selection in April 2004, against England in a 7-match series, but Bradshaw was not selected for the first four games, before taking two wickets as West Indies won the fifth match of the series by five wickets on debut at Beausejour Stadium. Bradshaw ended with five wickets for the series, and his economy rate of 5.50 is still the highest of his career to date.

Bradshaw was retained for the three-match series with Bangladesh, winning the Man of the Match award after bowling figures of 10–4–11–2, the most economical of his ODI career, and an unbeaten 12 as West Indies won by one wicket. He ended with five wickets at a bowling average of 9.60 for the series, thus ending third in the wicket-taking tally for the series behind Tino Best and Tapash Baisya.

West Indies played 11 ODIs in England in 2004, and Bradshaw played in every single one save for a rained off match at Southampton against New Zealand. The first seven matches were during the NatWest Series, where West Indies finished second after losing the final by 107 runs. Bradshaw opened with no wickets in a no result against New Zealand, then removed both England openers with his first seven balls at Trent Bridge in a seven-wicket win, before failing to take a wicket through the 32 overs in the remaining four matches. Bradshaw's bowling average of 85.50 was the highest by any West Indian in the series, but his economy rate of 3.71 was the best by a West Indian, and only beaten by Chris Cairns among bowlers with more than 10 overs in the tournament.

Golden Champions Trophy

Bradshaw was retained for the 2004 Champions Trophy, taking three wickets in the opening group, which West Indies won by beating Bangladesh and South Africa. He also removed Salman Butt for a two-ball duck in the seven-wicket semi-final win over Pakistan.

However, it was in the final that he, along with wicket-keeper Courtney Browne, made headlines West Indies had bowled England out for 217, with Bradshaw taking the wickets of Vikram Solanki and Michael Vaughan, but conceding the most runs of all West Indian bowlers with 54. With more than 15 overs left, Bradshaw joined Courtney Browne at the crease, with West Indies at 147 for eight and needing nearly half that score, 71, from the two last partners