Return to Test cricket was “challenging”: Chris Gayle – Cricket News Update
Fiery West Indian all-rounder http://www.senore.com/Cricket/CH-Gayle-c1221 has admitted that it was challenging to return to don the whites for the national side, following a one-an-a-half year exile from Test cricket.
“It was a bit challenging to come back and [play Test cricket],” admitted Gayle, pointing out that the team had also been busy playing a T20I and ODI series before jumping into the Test matches against New Zealand, which made the transition even more difficult.
In addition to the recent schedule, which saw Gayle playing an ODI and a T20I against England, before moving on to the 2-match T20I (in Florida) and 5-match ODI series (in the West Indies) against New Zealand, the 32-year-old also anticipated some hurdles
owing to the fact that he made a recent comeback to the national side after a prolonged hiatus.
Gayle had a falling out with the West Indies Cricket Board following the 2011 World Cup, after he gave a controversial interview to a Jamaican radio station, criticising the board and head coach http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ottis-Delroy-Gibson-c80358.
Following the interview, Gayle was sidelined by national selectors, and turned instead to T20 tournaments such as the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 Premier League and the Indian Premier League, cementing his reputation as a fearsome T20 batsman.
However, things appeared to be looking up earlier this year, when Gayle expressed the desire to play for the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Somerset-c843 in order to make himself available for national selection.
The resulting negotiating between the cricketer and the WICB eventually led to his return to the squad during the West Indies’ tour of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 earlier this year. Although an injury did not enable him to make much of an impression in England, Gayle made up
for it during the subsequent series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754, remaining the driving force behind his team’s 2-0 T20I victory and 4-1 ODI win.
What followed was Gayle’s return to Test cricket during the extended-overs series against the Kiwis, and despite the prolonged break (he last played a Test against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 in December 2010), the all-rounder (a veteran of 91 Tests, with 6373 to his name)
fit right in, smashing a massive 150 during the team’s first innings.
“To be out and about around the world, and to be back suddenly, I [had to] assess the conditions, assess day one, and then being on the outfield ... then I had to field again in the morning and then come out and open the batting. It was a mental thing. I
surpassed that now,” he said.
Stating that he had always retained the intent to return to the national side, the left-hander expressed his happiness at having contributed to the team’s win with a record-breaking score – among many other records, his 150 makes him the West Indies’ highest
run-scorer against the Black Caps, surpassing http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Cuthbert-Gordon-Greenidge-c51796.
“I knew I would come back at some stage, I never gave up,” Gayle said. “I am happy to be in the record books once more, and continue to contribute to West Indies cricket.”
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