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Gayle makes it easy for West Indies selectors
published: Wednesday | April 9, 2008
WITH the Sri Lanka Test series complete and Australia due to arrive for another in the Caribbean shortly, the West Indies captaincy issue is again on the table, given that the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) appoints a skipper series by series.
The Australia series opens with the first of three Test matches at Sabina Park from May 22-26, and concludes with the last of five One Day Internationals (ODI) on July 6 in Basseterre, St Kitts. The series also includes a Twenty20 International, at Barbados' Kensington Oval on June 20.
On this occasion, the Windies selectors' decision on a captain should be quite easy as Chris Gayle has been performing fairly good in the leadership role by winning matches. He also scored an unbeaten half century trying to save the first Sri Lanka Test before running out of partners, and hit a rapid-fire 45 in the first innings of the second Test.
Most recent victory
The most recent victory, by six wickets in the second and final Test to level the two-match series 1-1 with Sri Lanka, is the second win for the West Indies in four matches that Gayle has led the team.
It was not surprising when regional selectors chose Gayle to remain as skipper for the Sri Lanka series, based on the results garnered by the team under his leadership.
Gayle took over the captaincy under rather fortuitous circumstances during the limited-overs series last year in England - one which also included Ireland - after the unlucky Ramnaresh Sarwan suffered another tour-ending injury while fielding against England.
The West Indies went on to win that limited-overs series 2-1 over their English hosts in the best-of-three finals.
With Sarwan still recuperating from injury, the Windies' next tour of duty was in South Africa and Gayle was retained as skipper.
Against all odds, the West Indies won the first Test match - its first ever in that country - quite handsomely, virtually sending shock waves throughout the cricketing world. However, the team faded badly in the next two games. Of interest is the fact that a number of the team's top players, Gayle included, picked up injuries that limited their participation for the remainder of the series and they ended up losing 1-2. Gayle's injury also ruled him out of the third Test.
Unruffled skipper
Time and again, players in the team have pointed to the 'Gayle Style' of the cool, unruffled skipper with whom they can share ideas freely both on and off the pitch.
Gayle, though, also speaks freely and I really don't see him changing his personality. Therefore, the board must brace itself for some of the real, but harsh criticisms, at times.
Gayle's appointment for the Sri Lanka series was not a shoe-in as Ramnaresh Sarwan was available and not only that, the Guyanese middle-order batsman has done well since his return to competition.
Sarwan has been in the reckoning for the captaincy for much of his international career since being named Lara's deputy ahead of even more senior people like his countryman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who was nonetheless elevated to the WI captaincy slot in rather strange circumstances ahead of him.
Sarwan has clearly matured and with Gayle getting good results and the former settling nicely into his principal role as a batsman - averaging 77.75 in the Sri Lanka series - it would be wise not to burden Sarwan with the additional pressure of leading the team.
Another huge factor is Sarwan and the other members of the team are fully supportive of Gayle as skipper, given the open-minded leadership style which they say motivates and makes them comfortable.
Besides Sarwan, at the time Daren Ganga may also have been a consideration given the manner in which he has led Trinidad and Tobago. His major problem though is that he cannot command a spot in the Test team and as his average suggests, the right-handed opening batsman has not performed with any real distinction at Test level.
The Trinidadian, who captained the team on the tour of England last year, later scored 117 runs in six Test innings in South Africa. Additionally, he had a lean first-class season with the bat.
Another person who has captained the team in recent times is allrounder Dwayne Bravo, relatively young in Test cricket but one with a very active mind, a real thinking cricketer. However, his brief charge came in the absence of both Gayle and Sarwan and one assumes that because it occurred for only one Test, the final in the South Africa series, much thought would not have been given to him.
published: Wednesday | April 9, 2008
WITH the Sri Lanka Test series complete and Australia due to arrive for another in the Caribbean shortly, the West Indies captaincy issue is again on the table, given that the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) appoints a skipper series by series.
The Australia series opens with the first of three Test matches at Sabina Park from May 22-26, and concludes with the last of five One Day Internationals (ODI) on July 6 in Basseterre, St Kitts. The series also includes a Twenty20 International, at Barbados' Kensington Oval on June 20.
On this occasion, the Windies selectors' decision on a captain should be quite easy as Chris Gayle has been performing fairly good in the leadership role by winning matches. He also scored an unbeaten half century trying to save the first Sri Lanka Test before running out of partners, and hit a rapid-fire 45 in the first innings of the second Test.
Most recent victory
The most recent victory, by six wickets in the second and final Test to level the two-match series 1-1 with Sri Lanka, is the second win for the West Indies in four matches that Gayle has led the team.
It was not surprising when regional selectors chose Gayle to remain as skipper for the Sri Lanka series, based on the results garnered by the team under his leadership.
Gayle took over the captaincy under rather fortuitous circumstances during the limited-overs series last year in England - one which also included Ireland - after the unlucky Ramnaresh Sarwan suffered another tour-ending injury while fielding against England.
The West Indies went on to win that limited-overs series 2-1 over their English hosts in the best-of-three finals.
With Sarwan still recuperating from injury, the Windies' next tour of duty was in South Africa and Gayle was retained as skipper.
Against all odds, the West Indies won the first Test match - its first ever in that country - quite handsomely, virtually sending shock waves throughout the cricketing world. However, the team faded badly in the next two games. Of interest is the fact that a number of the team's top players, Gayle included, picked up injuries that limited their participation for the remainder of the series and they ended up losing 1-2. Gayle's injury also ruled him out of the third Test.
Unruffled skipper
Time and again, players in the team have pointed to the 'Gayle Style' of the cool, unruffled skipper with whom they can share ideas freely both on and off the pitch.
Gayle, though, also speaks freely and I really don't see him changing his personality. Therefore, the board must brace itself for some of the real, but harsh criticisms, at times.
Gayle's appointment for the Sri Lanka series was not a shoe-in as Ramnaresh Sarwan was available and not only that, the Guyanese middle-order batsman has done well since his return to competition.
Sarwan has been in the reckoning for the captaincy for much of his international career since being named Lara's deputy ahead of even more senior people like his countryman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who was nonetheless elevated to the WI captaincy slot in rather strange circumstances ahead of him.
Sarwan has clearly matured and with Gayle getting good results and the former settling nicely into his principal role as a batsman - averaging 77.75 in the Sri Lanka series - it would be wise not to burden Sarwan with the additional pressure of leading the team.
Another huge factor is Sarwan and the other members of the team are fully supportive of Gayle as skipper, given the open-minded leadership style which they say motivates and makes them comfortable.
Besides Sarwan, at the time Daren Ganga may also have been a consideration given the manner in which he has led Trinidad and Tobago. His major problem though is that he cannot command a spot in the Test team and as his average suggests, the right-handed opening batsman has not performed with any real distinction at Test level.
The Trinidadian, who captained the team on the tour of England last year, later scored 117 runs in six Test innings in South Africa. Additionally, he had a lean first-class season with the bat.
Another person who has captained the team in recent times is allrounder Dwayne Bravo, relatively young in Test cricket but one with a very active mind, a real thinking cricketer. However, his brief charge came in the absence of both Gayle and Sarwan and one assumes that because it occurred for only one Test, the final in the South Africa series, much thought would not have been given to him.