http://www.senore.com/Cricket/CH-Gayle-c1221 prepared to play in 3rd Test if needed – Cricket News Update
Despite a meeting scheduled with officials from the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 Cricket Board (WICB) on June 3, Jamaican batsman Chris Gayle has not ruled out the possibility of his participation in the national team’s ongoing Test series against England, the last match of which is slated to begin on June 7 at Edgbaston in Birmingham.
“I don't know if I'll eventually get that call but I have to meet with the board first on the third of June and the Test match starts on the seventh, so I don't know how that would work,” Gayle admitted.
“We would have to meet and then I would have to jump on a plane. I don't know how beneficial that would be for the team to actually be arriving a day before the Test match,” he added. “But as I said, I am a sportsman and I am always ready physically and mentally for the occasion.”
The 32-year-old has not played for the national side since the end of the World Cup last year in March. He fell out of favour with the WICB after making some critical comments in a radio interview regarding the board’s failure to treat an injury he had sustained during the World Cup. He also targeted West Indies head coach http://www.senore.com/Cricket/RR-Sarwan-c2371 during the World Cup.
Sidelined from the national squad, Gayle focused his cricketing career on tournaments such as the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 Premier League (during which he played for the Barisal Burners) and the recently wrapped-up Indian Premier League (in which he was associated with the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise).
A truce between the batsman and the board appeared to be on the cards earlier this year when Gayle pulled out of a deal with County club http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013.
However, his participation was not confirmed by the WICB, which issued a statement saying “residual matters” with the cricketer still needed to be cleared up – for which purpose, the all-rounder is due to have a meeting with board officials, as well as Prime Minister of Antigua, Baldwin Spencer, and Prime Minister of St Vincent, Ralph Gonsalves.
The date of the meeting makes it a likely possibility that Gayle (a veteran of 91 Tests, with 6,373 runs at an average of 41.65) might be called in to join the flagging West Indies side, who have lost the first two Tests of their 3-match series against England.
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