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Late City Edition Monday 11th July, 2011 15 BY DELANO FRANKLYN Domestic and International Cricket ing late for the Test in England. With a ship, fostered, cultivated and inspired by by writing to Hilaire and meeting with No wonder he is in such demand. He short shelf life in cricket, good cricketers Gayle. Gibson, and team manager, Richardson, ur best batsman, Chris Gayle, sat is being inundated with invitations to like Gayle have to try to earn sufficient but to no avail. So who is to be believed, in the stands as the West Indies play in all types of matches in different funds to keep them going when they can Theory into Practice Gibson or Gayle? Oteam struggled and was eventually countries. That is now the nature of no longer play the game. Soon, thereafter, the board moved to beaten in the first Test by a second-string international cricket. Players, like Gayle, The comments by Lloyd came on the put Beckles’ theory into practice. It Deafening Silence Indian team. are now caught in the middle of the tug- heels of Gayle expressing, then, his pref- moved to isolate him. According to Gayle, In all of this, the silence of the presi- That is not to say that if Gayle was in of-war between international and local erence for the shorter version of the the board showed little or no interest to dent of the WICB, Julian Hunte; the presi- the team it would have won. Nothing of commitments. game. He also revealed, at the time, that an injury which he had developed. dent of the Jamaica Cricket Association the sort. However, the inclusion of Gayle That is what led former captain Clive he had only assumed the leadership of Further, the board made no attempt to (JCA), Lyndel Wright; and the would have guaranteed that the most Lloyd, in May 2009, to question his late the team because he was pressured into contact him regarding his availability or Government of Jamaica, through the exciting West Indies batsman currently arrival in England, less than two days the job. It was very clear from then that non-availability for the recently conclud- Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, would have been on show, and who to before the start of the first Test match. Gayle never relished the leadership ed home series against Pakistan. Gayle Olivia Grange, is deafening. Hunte, no tell, given the opportunity, he probably Gayle had stayed on to complete his com- responsibility, and it was equally very also spoke about Coach Gibson’s negative doubt, has asked Hilaire to be his mouth- would have slaughtered the friendly mitment with his team at the Indian clear that if given an opportunity, he attitude towards him and the more senior piece, so we can assume that if Hilaire Indian pace bowling. Such is Premier League, resulting in him arriv- would play 20/20 over and above Test players, meaning Shivnarine does not want Gayle and Hunte remains the state of the West Indies cricket, however, that noth- ing is certain except defeat. Despite defeat after defeat, first against Pakistan and now against India, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) seems hell-bent on keeping Gayle out of the team. This has resulted in Ernest Hilaire, the chief executive officer of the WICB; Ottis Gibson, the matches. Despite Gayle’s utterances, he Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, quiet, then Hunte does not want Gayle. coach of the team; Dinanath always had a very good relationship during the last World Cup. What about Vice-President Dave Cameron, Ramnarine, the president of the West with the players. Somehow he was For his public criticism of the coach a Jamaican, to boot. One can also assume, Indies Players’ Association (WIPA); always able to get them to listen to and members of the board, Gayle is being Cameron having not spoken, that he, too, and Chris Gayle himself, being him, and they respected him. further ostracised. According to Hilaire, does not want Gayle to play. engaged in verbal and written The current charges and coun- no doubt supported by other board mem- Does the leadership of the JCA have a exchanges which have been flying left, tercharges, therefore, regarding bers, Gayle should not be considered for position on the Gayle matter, if so, what is right and centre across the Caribbean Gayle’s non-selection to the West selection until he meets with members of it? I am sure that the president is engaged Sea. Indies team seems to be rooted in the board. So in Jamaica, Hilaire, Richie in some behind-the-scenes work, but in a the fact that he has a certain Richardson, Gibson, Anthony Howard, world where communication is the order Batting of Gayle influence over the players. The Ramnarine and Wavell Hinds huddled to of the day and everyone else has spoken The raw power of Chris Gayle first sign of this was the unfortu- deal with the issue. The meeting ended, on the matter, the silence of the JCA is dif- with bat in hand is a sight to nate utterances by Hilary Beckles, not surprisingly, in disarray, with no ficult to understand. behold. Ricky Ponting, the captain a director of the board, who insensi- clear timeline or framework for a resolu- In fact, Gayle has been critical of the of Australia, regards him as the tively characterised Gayle as a don, tion of the issue. On the contrary, the JCA: most destructive batsman he has clearly suggesting that whatever stand-off widened. “As for the Jamaica Cricket ever seen. Ponting should know, as real or perceived indiscipline Inexplicably, after the meeting the Association, they have let me down badly, he has played with some of the which may exist among the WICB declared that while it wished to even though I did meet with the new presi- hardest hitters of the ball, includ- more experienced crick- resolve the issue, it wanted nothing to do dent of the JCA, Mr Wright, and Mr ing Adam Gilchrist and Matthew eters, comes about as a with Ramnarine. WIPA, of course, would Hinds, but nothing has been done.” Hayden. Who can forget Ponting direct result of have none of it. The WICB has no authori- The response of the JCA and the throwing the ball to Australian Jamaican donman- ty to determine who WIPA selects to act on Jamaican Government is different from speedster Brett Lee. Lee enthusias- its behalf. Of course, WIPA, while being what happened in Guyana. The WICB tically grabbed the ball, walked very forthright in rejecting the board’s shunted Sarwan and Chanderpaul at the towards the boundary, spun position, must also, in the interest of West start of series. It gave no good reason. The around, jumped and then broke into Indies cricket, continuously examine its Guyana Cricket Association and persons an increasingly athletic run strategic and tactical approach in order to at the level of government came out towards the wicket, sprung into the guarantee the best possible result on swinging, and the WICB backed off. air, and let go the ball at 93 miles per behalf of those it represents. As for the minister of youth, sports and hour, only to see Gayle open up his As the WICB and WIPA stiffen their culture, she has, apparently decided to mighty shoulders, swing his bat, respective positions, and the team contin- play deaf and dumb. But how could she? causing the ball to disappear over the ues to be outclassed by the Indians, The region’s best-performing batsman is long on boundary for one of the Gibson, in an effort to bolster his creden- being treated like a footstool by the WICB longest sixes ever. In that over, Gayle tials, has bragged that the West Indies are and our minister of sport remains silent. hammered Lee for 26 runs. now operating as a better unit under his We need to hear what is the position of the It is this kind of powerhouse watch. In support of this position, he Government on this matter. approach which makes Gayle one of argues that the team is now able to bowl The only hope to resolve this matter the most exciting batsmen today. He out India twice in a Test match. In other seems to be the announced intervention of does not generate excitement by being words, the team can do without Gayle. CARICOM. Already, the newly elected a touch player. One who moves his feet Yet, Gibson is also reported to have chairman, Dr Denzil Douglas, has indicat- and in a swan-like fashion guides the said; ed that the Prime Ministerial ball across the turf. No. On the contrary, “The board knows my feelings on the Subcommittee on Cricket under the lead- his feet are usually planted, heavily whole thing, and we are trying to build a ership of the prime minister of Antigua laden, thus making his batting tech- team, a team that is competitive and starts and Barbuda, Baldwin Spencer, will be nique unfriendly on the eyes. Yet, his to win. We have not been doing that for a revived. It, too, had gone dead. I call on Mr hand and eye coordination gives him while, and everybody has a part to play in Spencer to bring all the parties together as that special edge. He is able to pick up this, and Chris Gayle has a part to play in quickly as possible to try and resolve the the line and length of the fastest or it, if he chooses.” matter.

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