West Indies' overreliance on Gayle's ' Gale' - Opinion
It is of constant wonder as to whenever the West Indies have performed or have threatened to outplay the opposition; a few key players have always proven pivotal. From the early till the mid 2000’s, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/CH-Gayle-c1221’s form with the bat, where the tall Jamaican left hander managed to impose himself on the Kiwi bowlers in the first two ODIs, (both played in Sabina Park) underlines significant loopholes in this West Indies side, which largely go unnoticed.
The manner in which the Black Caps were outplayed in the nascent stages of the series along with constant injury woes, negates the dismal run that the West Indies have had of late themselves. Without Gayle’s thunderous 125, where he announced his intentions as early as the 3rd over in the second ODI, New Zealand’s reply of 260 looked quite handsome if not commendable. If the Gayle innings is to be subtracted from the overall total put up, the West Indies were easily blown away, courtesy the prowess of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MJ-Guptill-c1980 at the top of the order.
This strange sense of reliance has overshadowed how mediocre the rest of the side has been of late. There would be the occasional calypso beats from the likes of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DR-Smith-c1401 at the top of the order, or the all round genius of Andre Russell materializing on ground, but without Gayle’s ability to deposit cricket balls out of the park, which often enables the Windies to gallop at 6 runs per over, the signs continue to be ominous for this talented group of players who were exposed in English conditions prior to this encounter.
The third ODI, played at Warner Park in Saint Kitts, highlights the above point. The West Indies were blown away for just 161 in 34.3 overs against a Kiwi attack which lacked the likes of Vettori, who is genuine match winner. The reliance on Gayle was such that his dismissal triggered a batting collapse, of which only http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Andre-Dwayne-Russell-c44235 managed 42. The rest of the players did not even reach 20.
The woes for the Windies were also reflected in the field, where they blew hot and cold and bowled length deliveries in the latter stages of the innings, prompting sloggers such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/TG-Southee-c2659 to help themselves.
249 should have never been in New Zealand’s grasp after the abysmal start that they got, with only http://www.senore.com/Cricket/RJ-Nicol-c2331 managing 59 at the top of the innings. The Kiwis might be facing dismal times themselves, but what is encouraging and is in stark contrast to the West Indies, is that at least individual contributions from every member of the side helps the Black Caps stay in contention.
Being harsh on the West Indies might not be the right idea as they are clear favourites for this series, but this trend of a few if not ONE player firing and having a spillover effect on the team is not a new one. The Windies have been at the bottom of the rankings since the 1980s. The issue is thus, a grave one, and despite flashes of brilliance on view in the longer format of the game, the ODI format is almost exclusively reliant on Gayle himself, which is hard to digest. His ability to annihilate attacks has proven deflating for the opposition and makes the stands rock to Calypso beats. The sad part however, is that if the opposition gets Gayle out, then they always have and had a chance.
Such a fact manages to ring bells for any acute cricket observer, where in the old days Richard Hadlee of New Zealand or http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Thomas-George-Burrows-c93472 could be the same if Gayle doesn’t fire. It is a sad story to say the least.
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