Gayle breaks world record
Veteran West Indies star Chris Gayle has smashed 12 sixes off England’s meagre bowling attack to break Shahid Afridi’s world record.
On his way to a knock of 135 from 129 balls, Gayle surpassed Afridi’s record of most sixes in international cricket and now stands alone at the top with 488 sixes,
12 ahead of the former Pakistan captain. New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum is third on the all time international sixes list with 398.
In Barbados yesterday, Gayle, who recently announced he’ll retire from this form of the game after the World Cup, helped West Indies reach a huge total of
360-8 off their 50 overs.
It is the West Indies’ biggest total on home soil and also their highest ODI total against England.
However, it wasn’t enough as Jason Roy and Joe Root scored centuries as England clinched a record-breaking victory.
Roy made 123 and Root 102 as the visitors scored 364-4 to win with eight balls to spare and take a 1-0 lead in the fivegame series in front of a near-capacity crowd at Kensington Oval.
England’s highest successful run chase in one-dayers was aided by some sloppy West Indies fielding and several dropped catches.
England’s previous best pursuit was the 350 they scored against New Zealand in
2015 but Jos Buttler clipped his first ball for four to seal a historic win.
As well as the 12 sixes Gayle hit, there were 11 more from his team-mates, to break another world record which stood at 22 and held by the Black Caps.
It was Gayle’s 24th ODI century and as he reached that mark he dropped to his knees, then raised his bat, with his helmet placed on top of it.
Gayle was playing in his first ODI match since July last year as he prepares for the Cricket World Cup in England starting at the end of May.
It was a day England’s Moeen Ali will want to forget quickly as the spinner went for 85 runs from his 10 overs without claiming any wickets.