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West Indies captain Chris Gayle admits his preparation for the forthcoming two-match Test series with England has been far from ideal, but insists he is ready to lead from the front.
Gayle only arrived in England on Monday due to his Indian Premier League commitments with the Kolkata Knight Riders.
He has had virtually no time to adjust to English conditions ahead of Wednesday's first Test at Lord's but remains happy with his decision to compete in the IPL, even if he concedes he is perhaps not completely attuned to Test cricket as a result.
"I am prepared mentally, but from a Test cricket or four-day cricket point of view, no, I've been playing Twenty20 cricket which is totally different from Test cricket," he told Sky Sports News.
"But I am mentally prepared and ready, I knew this was going to happen so I prepared myself for it.
"It's always a challenge for me to come to England in these sort of conditions, it's definitely very cold. But I knew this was going to happen, like I said I'm physically fit, I'm ready and am looking forward to a good game."
Preparation
Asked if he felt the past few weeks in South Africa had been beneficial to his preparation for the series in England, Gayle responded honestly.
"Definitely not. As a captain you want to be amongst your team before, but we all knew the situation," he added.
"Everyone knew that myself, Fidel (Edwards) and (Dwayne) Bravo were actually going to play in the IPL, so it's no secret and everyone was aware of the situation.
"They knew I was actually going to be back in England just a couple of days before the Test match. So it was nothing new to anyone, we just have to go out there and do the business in the Test match."
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Gayle only arrived in England on Monday due to his Indian Premier League commitments with the Kolkata Knight Riders.
He has had virtually no time to adjust to English conditions ahead of Wednesday's first Test at Lord's but remains happy with his decision to compete in the IPL, even if he concedes he is perhaps not completely attuned to Test cricket as a result.
"I am prepared mentally, but from a Test cricket or four-day cricket point of view, no, I've been playing Twenty20 cricket which is totally different from Test cricket," he told Sky Sports News.
"But I am mentally prepared and ready, I knew this was going to happen so I prepared myself for it.
"It's always a challenge for me to come to England in these sort of conditions, it's definitely very cold. But I knew this was going to happen, like I said I'm physically fit, I'm ready and am looking forward to a good game."
Preparation
Asked if he felt the past few weeks in South Africa had been beneficial to his preparation for the series in England, Gayle responded honestly.
"Definitely not. As a captain you want to be amongst your team before, but we all knew the situation," he added.
"Everyone knew that myself, Fidel (Edwards) and (Dwayne) Bravo were actually going to play in the IPL, so it's no secret and everyone was aware of the situation.
"They knew I was actually going to be back in England just a couple of days before the Test match. So it was nothing new to anyone, we just have to go out there and do the business in the Test match."
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