Man of the Moment: Chris Gayle

Readers of this blog will know that I'm not Chris Gayle's most ardent fan. I'm not generally impressed by players who are happy to make lucrative T20 appearances and to hell with their country, and sadly the laconic Jamaican has in the past been one of those. Indeed, the sporting dictionary probably contains the entry under C: 'Cricketing mercenary: see Chris Gayle'. The West Indies Board hasn't helped matters. Apart from the magnificent Shivnarine Chanderpaul, now officially the world's best Test batsman, Gayle is by some margin the Windies' best player, and has been for a number of years, yet he and the powers that be have never really got on, and so the opener has told them where to go and has gleefully plied his trade in the biff-bang stuff and proved there is no man in the world better at bludgeoning sixes or thumping extremely rapid centuries. For some reason, relations seem to have thawed. As a Somerset fan, I despair at the timing. Just when things were looking so flaming promising for us, our opening dream team has turned into a nightmare, Trescothick injured and now Gayle suddenly declaring undying love for the West Indies. Once his IPL commitments are completed, of course. That's one contract he absolutely CANNOT break! So will he play for the West Indies? Duh! Who would England rather not bowl at later this month? Adrian Barath, Kirk Edwards or Chris Gayle? Exactly. Apart from his incredible T20 achievements, his record for the islands is not wonderful. He may be better than most of his countrymen but these days it isn't saying very much, however hard they try. He may have a few Test triples to his name, but an average below 42 is moderate in the current era. His strike rate is only on a par with Ricky Ponting, too. What may be more significant is that since 2008, he averaged 58 but even the more flexible, lovable Chris hasn't made himself available to add to his tally 91 Tests. In one-dayers, Gayle's strike rate of 84 places him below feared six-meisters like Mark Boucher and Mashrafe Mortaza so he's not as good as he likes to make out. However, righth now, his value to the Windies could be immense. He could bring in the crowds, win back fans and in technical terms, worry the hell out of Anderson and Broad during Powerplays. Support from his colleagues has been somewhat underwhelming. Darren Sammy welcomed him back into the fold yet pointedly reminded the prodigal son about the new "hardworking culture" in the West Indies dressing room. Coach Ottis Gibson sounded peeved about the situation of players picking and choosing when and where they wanted to represent their country. I don't know how the other hard-working dressing room occupants feel about Gayle's return to the side in England this month, but if it doesn't affect their own determination to succeed and Gayle's talent galvanises a side which is starting to recover form and dignity on the world stage under Sammy, then it would be a good move. Trouble is, next time a one-day series clashes with some parochial T20 tournament (Singapore Sixathon? Bangkok Biff? Serbia Slogfest?), will Gayle make himself slightly less than available again for Gibson et al? His last ODI was last March (8 runs in 9 balls)when Pakistan crushed the Windies in the World Cup quarter-final, and his batting average has deteriorated steadily since 2008. On the other hand, his strike rate has risen considerably since his early days, clearly influenced by the gung-ho style adopted to such acclaim in Twenty20. Oddly his record at home is much worse than abroad, although England is not a happy hunting ground for him. His opportunity to play a few matches may win a few friends but he needs to commit more than just a few weeks to the cause. His treatment of Somerset smarts more than a little but Brand Gayle is one of the biggest in world cricket and when he is on fire, as in the IPL, he is worth an admission fee alone. He has, however, yet to win me over.