The enigma that is Chris Gayle

[englandmad666]

Top effort by the big man today, reaching 333 and passing 300 for the second time in test cricket in his career is quite a feat for him. It is also a fair point both his triples have come against decent attacks against SA and SL, so no minnow bashing here so top marks to the man and quite how darren sammy the new skipper must feel getting a golden one after watching his predescessor cash in like that god only knows.

But my question is if he can be that good to pass a figure like 300 twice then why hasnt he scored more runs and averaged more in test cricket? Is he a classic hot and cold player, when on form he will score runs and heavily? And when off form doesnt look like he knows what end of a bat to hold? Its a strange one for a man who at the top of the order could be one of the most destructive openers of recent times yet his talent just very rarely pops his head. Hes so good to watch though when on form and its infuriating when he gets out softly and seemingly trudges off without a care in the world.

Ive heard his attitude and work rate leave a lot to be desired but still if you have all that talent and all that ability why not use it? People could be sitting here talking about gayle as part of a recent time world 11 but he just doesnt do enough!!

I feel sorry for you west indian fans because you must be more frustrated then i am, he definetly is a enigma of the current game.

[Borges]

Well, from the scorecard it appears that he put his head down and ground out the runs today. 219 of 247 balls SR 88 on day one, and 114 of 190 balls SR 60 today. Remember him grinding out his previous century in Australia too. May be, he has turned a new leaf in his carer - with the amount of talent he has, he should be pushing an average of 50 rather than scraping 40.

[Aidan11]

He has certainly played some impressive innings but when his career ends he may look back and realise he could have been up there with Lara & Richards if he applied himself more. He can still deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as players like Greenidge and Haynes though.

[from_the_stands]

A very special player indeed.

[SaintPowelly]

This innings was all about proving he can still play, after being sacked as captain.

I expect he will return to his typical 'slogging' role soon, although he hit 9 sixes in his innings..I wouldnt class it as a slog

[ntini77]

Should of been a great player. He's one of the most talented batsman I've ever seen.

[amitb]

He has done pretty well in last 30 months or so. 6 centuries in last 20 Tests from an opener and captain ... hardly inconsistent off late.

[Durhamfootman]

He can still deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as players like Greenidge and Haynes though.

Or in the same breath as Bradman, Lara and Sehwag!

[Blog it for six]

For me, his comment that he “wouldn’t mind if test cricket died out” sums up his attitude towards cricket. I think he could take or leave the game and it seems to me that when his interest is stoked, then he becomes motivated eg not having shackles of captaincy frees him up and rejuvenates him and therefore rejuvenates his performances.

Gayle is incredible to watch. I’ve never seen a man time a ball with so little effort – it’s a gift!! I hope this is the start of a great run of form for him, it will be great for the Windies and cricket in general.

[mikesiva]

to be fair, that comment to the Guardian was taken out of context by the journalist....

Gayle's Test career is best divided into two parts. The first half of his career saw some inconsistent results with the bat, with him averaging in the mid-30s. But in the second half of his career, especially since he was appointed captain, he's averaged in the high 40s, which is pretty good.

[mikesiva]

Some unusually very frank comments from the WICB's CEO, Ernest Hilaire....

http://www.windiescricket.com/content/w ... rmance-pay

"We said to the players that we don’t want to be in a fight with you. It makes no sense for us to have players who we’re forcing to play for West Indies. We won’t get performance, we won’t get commitment. We’ve tried to explain to the players about representing West Indies and the necessity to do it and the importance of it. We can always decide that we will pick you and see what happens – whether you perform or not it’s up to you and your conscience and your commitment. But we do not think that is the best way to go about it so we have tried to speak to the players about it. We’ve had discussions with Kieron Pollard about his own aspirations, his development, where he wants to go with his game and what his own plans are and we’ve understood his own thoughts. And we’re going to try to work with him to ensure he remains a valuable resource to West Indies cricket. We’ve spoken to Dwayne Bravo about his own plans and intentions. We’ve had some very frank and engaging discussions on the matter and we will see how best we can accommodate the players. With Chris Gayle it has not been a productive discussion and therefore it is a little more difficult for me to make any pronouncements as it relates to Chris. But we are open to discussing with players what their plans and objectives are and how best we can accommodate them within the commitment that they must also play for country and to represent West Indies cricket."

[mikesiva]

And now Gayle seems to be on his way to the IPL....

http://www.caribbeancricket.com/

Well, he hasn't been picked for the Pakistan ODIs, though it's been rumoured that the reason for that is that there are threats of lawsuits over the WICB's reluctance to sign an NOC for him.

Like Pollard, he seems to prefer to be playing in the IPL in India, than playing at home against Pakistan....

[PardonWonTheCup]

I think Gayle is ok. His test average in the past couple of years is over 50, I'm pretty sure and he has had to handle a lot of pressure with the problems that West Indies cricket has. Being skipper of a team in the doldrums must be very hard work, I'm sure Dan Vettori could sympathise with him.

I really can't blame players if they want to earn some big money from their main skill.

[ddb]

Who's he going to sign for?

[mikesiva]

Who's he going to sign for?

Royal Challengers Bangalore?

http://caribbeancricket.com/news/2011/04/19/3122

According to that story, Gayle will replace Dirk Nannes, who's been ruled out for the rest of the IPL with a side strain....