Chris Gayle has secured his window seat
Say what you want about Chris Gayle, he produces when it matters most. During the third T20 cricket match between the West Indies and australia in Grenada, his blistering 67 not only confirmed that he is the best-ever batsman in the game’s shortest version, but he would have secured his window seat on the aircraft to the United arab emirates and Oman for the T20 World Cup starting mid-october.
Gayle will turn 42 on September 21, but, for him, age is a mere number, and judging from how he handled the Australians, minus only Pat Cummins to complete its ideal bowling attack, he has more in his batting arsenal to offer the West Indies and any other team that needs his services.
Of course, credit must be given to team Captain Kieron Pollard who virtually chose the T20 squad — insisting that he wanted veterans like Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Fidel Edwards — and no selector dared to object. So Gayle, the only man to have scored more than 14,000 runs in T20 cricket, will get a further chance to continue teaching his lessons of history with the bat. And ball too, if you don’t mind.
It is clear that he added to the electric vibe that transported the West Indies to success in the five-match series against Australia, although the West Indies virtually threw away the fourth match, which would have given them a 4-0 lead on Wednesday. After a heroic effort by Fabian Allen in the penultimate over as West Indies chased victory, Andre Russell blundered by facing four dot balls, and refusing to take the singles on offer as the home team sought 11 runs from six balls.
It was the third time that Russell had taken that approach and he still does not understand that it doesn’t work.
That aside, it was a fine 4-1 series win by the West Indies, who had two players missing, against a still strong Australia, with four regular members absent.