http://www.senore.com/Cricket/CH-Gayle-c1221 for 2012 Friends Life T20 tournament - Cricket News Update
Somerset County Cricket Club, on Thursday signed former http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 skipper and the belligerent top order batsman Chris Gayle for the 2012 Friends Life T20 tournament.
The Caribbean all-rounder had been in talks with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Middlesex-c817, another County side, but the Panthers decided to import a fast bowler rather than Gayle’s blitz with the bat.
Somerset have been losing finalists in the last three Friends Life Twenty20 tournaments but the County’s director of cricket, Brian Rose, hoped inclusion of Gayle in the squad would help the side clinch the title this time.
According to Rose, Gayle's aggressive batting, off-spin, and agile fielding would boost up the team's overall performance.
"Chris is a tremendously exciting player and one of the people who would get into any World T20 XI,” said Rose speaking to the media after finalizing the deal with the hard-hitting Caribbean opener.
"He is a tremendous all-rounder; his batting is outstanding, he bowls and can open the attack with his off-spinners and he is also a brilliant fielder, so we are absolutely delighted," he added further.
The 32-year-old Jamaican all-rounder will replace his West Indies teammate http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KA-Pollard-c1754 as one of Somerset’s imports for the season. Pollard is likely to be on national assignments during most of the Friends life T20 tournament
but since Gayle is no more part of West Indies Cricket Board’s contracted players, his chances of joining the national side are quite thin.
Somerset’s batting line-up already includes some big names including http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Peter-Trego-c2181. Gayle’s inclusion into the squad would further strengthen batting prospects
of Panthers.
The hard-hitting Jamaican left-hander was also excited to join the Panthers at the County Ground, Taunton and vowed to help the side win the Flt20 title.
"I am delighted to be heading to Somerset this summer," said Gayle. "They are a great club and hopefully I can make a key contribution to their T20 campaign this year."
The belligerent left-handed batsman has an exceptional T20 record. To date, he has played 86 Twenty20 matches compiling a tally of 2949 runs at an average of 39.32 and an impressive strike rate of 152.40. He is the only player to
have scored 5 centuries in the shortest format of the game.
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