What to do with this man.
Clearly the best West Indian batsman, we find him plundering IPL bowlers around instead of coming to the aid of his miserable national side, currently being bossed around by Pakistan at home. Pakistani youngsters bullying the West Indies in their back yard? A truly sad state, rock bottom has been their only dwelling for ten years, and they don't look like moving house.
This latest soap opera epitomizes the state of West Indies cricket in the past decade. Confusions, accusations, dodgy selections, sour sponsorship deals, IPL lust, Allan Stanford. What a mess. As long as these moments of lunacy continue to hover, this is a team that will never get out of its slumber.
In the middle of it all is this is Chris Gayle. The talismanic figure always stands out and becomes the forefront of compliments or criticism, perhaps unfairly too. Unlike the obviously selfish Pollard, Gayle claims to had written off the IPL for international commitments, saying he should be playing for the West Indies. The board claims they tried to 'reach out' to him, blaming Gayle. Just what the heck is going on?
Does he even merit selection? Lets have a look at his ODI stats in the past two years against the other top eight teams:
Yuck. Maybe the selectors had a point. Maybe he too is selfish? Only seeming to find form in the money hungry format of the game. But then again, lets look at the so called 'purest' form of the game:
So the man has been firing in T20 cricket and Test cricket, but has been a complete failure in the 50 over format of the game. I give up.
The man is an enigma. He is a symbol, a reflection of the chaotic nature of West Indian cricket. A last minute SOS call for Gayle might result in a momentum seizing century or a golden duck.
He is just that kind of player.
Clearly the best West Indian batsman, we find him plundering IPL bowlers around instead of coming to the aid of his miserable national side, currently being bossed around by Pakistan at home. Pakistani youngsters bullying the West Indies in their back yard? A truly sad state, rock bottom has been their only dwelling for ten years, and they don't look like moving house.
This latest soap opera epitomizes the state of West Indies cricket in the past decade. Confusions, accusations, dodgy selections, sour sponsorship deals, IPL lust, Allan Stanford. What a mess. As long as these moments of lunacy continue to hover, this is a team that will never get out of its slumber.
In the middle of it all is this is Chris Gayle. The talismanic figure always stands out and becomes the forefront of compliments or criticism, perhaps unfairly too. Unlike the obviously selfish Pollard, Gayle claims to had written off the IPL for international commitments, saying he should be playing for the West Indies. The board claims they tried to 'reach out' to him, blaming Gayle. Just what the heck is going on?
Does he even merit selection? Lets have a look at his ODI stats in the past two years against the other top eight teams:
| Mat | Runs | HS | Bat Av | 100 | Wkts | BBI | Bowl Av | 5 | Ct | St | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| unfiltered | 228 | 8087 | 153* | 39.06 | 19 | 156 | 5/46 | 35.08 | 1 | 99 | 0 | |
| filtered | 22 | 438 | 64 | 20.85 | 0 | 4 | 2/38 | 98.00 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
Yuck. Maybe the selectors had a point. Maybe he too is selfish? Only seeming to find form in the money hungry format of the game. But then again, lets look at the so called 'purest' form of the game:
| Mat | Runs | HS | Bat Av | 100 | Wkts | BBI | Bowl Av | 5 | Ct | St | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| unfiltered | 91 | 6373 | 333 | 41.65 | 13 | 72 | 5/34 | 41.59 | 2 | 85 | 0 | |
| filtered | 11 | 972 | 333 | 54.00 | 3 | 2 | 1/2 | 54.00 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
So the man has been firing in T20 cricket and Test cricket, but has been a complete failure in the 50 over format of the game. I give up.
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| Some things just cannot be explained. © AFP |
The man is an enigma. He is a symbol, a reflection of the chaotic nature of West Indian cricket. A last minute SOS call for Gayle might result in a momentum seizing century or a golden duck.
He is just that kind of player.
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