ANALYSIS BRAVO GAYLE Gayle Force Winds Of Change West Indies have been papering over Caribbean cracks for the last two decades, but the personal clashes of Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo with the West Indies Board are obscuring the external threat. BY: NICK SADLEIR Ever since the inaugural IPL in 2008, T20 Despite its enormous talent pool the cricket and its monster pay packets have West Indies continue to underperform and hung over the head of the international have won only two Test series over the past game like the sword of Damocles. seven years; one at home to England in Fortunately the prioritisation of country 2009 and the other recently in Bangladesh. over club by players and administrators Despondent fans will have scant optimism in the Test playing nations has prevented about their team’s performance in the most teams from losing their best person- upcoming tour of England, although a nel to the abyss that is the proliferation of competitive display against Australia, who relatively meaningless but cash-flush T20 are visiting the Caribbean after a dominant leagues the world over. However, there is summer Down Under, will have raised one sad exception. some expectations. The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) The grim prospect of a second-string may have a near impossible task in side being thrashed by the Aussies forced managing its motley pool of players from the board to try and make amends with 15 rather spread out countries, but it has alienated players. A host of non-contracted seldom excelled itself in its relations with senior players took part in a two-week its cricketers. With money and loyalty at training camp that preceded the Australia the centre of most disputes it is no surprise series. that some of its stars have chosen Two of the world’s favourite T20 immense wealth and international guns-for-hire, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron stardom over being paid a pittance (or Pollard, along with the experienced Denesh nothing at all) to turn out for a side that Ramdin and Tino Best, returned to the fold has forgotten how to win. to inspire some hope in a failing setup, but The West Indies may have been easily there remained one glaring omission from the world’s best for much of the 70’s and the pack. The WICB have excluded their ace 80’s but a general shift across the region turned joker; Chris Gayle. Apparently he towards American popular culture and refused to apologise to the Board for sports has resulted in greater interest in rap comments that he made about the Board music and basketball than in the colonial and the coach, Ottis Gibson in a radio game of cricket. In addition, most of the interview. team’s stars have either skipped or been It was understood that Gayle needed omitted from West Indian squads doing only to retract and he’d be back in the international battle as a direct result of mix. Similarly, the WI only needed to say conflicts of interest between country the word and he’d play. At least that’s the and club. public face, said with the confidence that 18 SPIN MAY/JUNE 2012 it was never going to happen and Gayle way is now clear for his active return to was always going to the IPL. He has talked West Indies cricket, subject to all necessary about coming to England for the one-day fitness considerations,” claims the CMC. Left: series. Cynics point out that he does not But a pending court case between the West want to miss out on the T20 World Cup in Indies Players Association - to which Gayle Gayle and Bravo. Mercenaries or Sri Lanka in September. is a party - and the WICB, seriously Freelancers? (Getty) And it does seem that some progress contradicts that. Below: has been made. The Caribbean Media The Board hoped Gayle would drop Corporation (CMC) has reported that the the lawsuit concerning No-Objection Gayle lights up the Royal Challengers Bangalore as far WICB have put their differences aside. Certificates filed by the WIPA against it, away the West Indies go down “The WICB and Mr Gayle agree that the though Gayle, in a statement recently, to Australia. (AFP/Getty) MAY/JUNE 2012 SPIN 19 ANALYSIS BRAVO GAYLE said he could not “possibly contemplate over four years. As Gideon Haigh points out, withdrawing unilaterally from proceed- it is this kind of thing that makes it no ings”, especially when such a move would surprise that the WICB cannot find a sponsor affect all West Indies players. for its domestic first-class competition. “Mutual intransigence” is what Tony Cozier says that off-field distractions and Cozier calls it. Gayle is arrogant, but why player-board tension continue to hamper wouldn’t he be – the man is peerless when the side’s development, but he notes that; it comes to pelting leather over rope and “such setbacks are somewhat moderated he has plenty of reason to believe he was by the homecoming of Dwayne Bravo from mistreated by his bosses at the WICB. his T20 exploits across the globe. An Hopefully something will give but in ebullient all-rounder who has clearly the meantime the dasher has been lining re-found his groove (he opted out of the his pockets with gold by playing in every team last June stating he wasn’t happy T20 tournament on the planet. His swing with his game and needed time to ‘rest, remains as true as ever. He hit 22 sixes in refocus and reflect’) his enthusiasm has six games at the Stanbic Bank T20 in been infectious ever since he came into Zimbabwe, 22 sixes in seven games at the international cricket in 2004. Below: Big Bash in Australia (including a record Now, if he could sort out all the off-field ten in one innings) and 26 sixes in five nonsense as well, he would instantly take Julian Hunte, president off the WICB, at the ICC Executive games at the Bangladesh Premier League. over as Board president and team captain. Board meeting in Dubai in If he hadn’t been injured he would no But no one has yet found the formula for October 2011. doubt have pelted more maximums - cricketing peace for 20 years and counting.” Right: instead of sitting on the bench – at South Let us hope that Bravo can begin to do Africa’s domestic MiWay T20 tournament. some of that, but though he played in the Bravo goes aerial at the 2011 In between these astonishing feats of drawn one-day series against Australia, he World Cup freelancing he flew home to Jamaica to has gone to the IPL – unlike his younger Bottom Right: make a couple of appearances for his home brother, Darren, who was the only West island. When Gayle turned out for Jamaica Indies player not to take up his IPL contract Sunil Narine, West Indies new mystery spinner - sometimes. in a four-day match it was his first first- - and when SPIN caught up with the all- (All Getty) class appearance outside of Test cricket for rounder a couple of months ago he seemed 20 SPIN MAY/JUNE 2012 .