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West Indies' Chris Gayle has been an international outcast but is now set to tour England this summer. Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PAThere is a story concerning Chris Gayle which is often retold whenever his name crops up in informal discussions over a beer or two. Once, long before the IPL and spats with the West Indies Cricket Board, way before the prospect of the itinerant rent-a-six cricketer became fact, Gayle found himself with West Indies down at Arundel and, at lunch, sitting next to John Barclay, old Etonian, brave batsman, former MCC president, ex-England manager, all round enthusiastic good egg known to all as Trout. As is his wont, Trout was waxing lyrical about his time in cricket, his touring experiences, how much he loved the Caribbean, and banged off memory after memory scarcely drawing breath. Gayle soaked it all up in silence before turning to Trout: "You get much **********?"
That Gayle loves life is indisputable. That he is not just a superb cricketer but one of the most charismatic, not to say the coolest, would be understatement. Few, if any, have hit the ball harder or more frequently back over the bowlers head. Personally I cherish two vignettes: one, in a Test match at The Oval, was the primeval roar he let out immediately after he blasted Matthew Hoggard through extra cover to complete the full set of six successive boundaries in the over; the other, on his home ground at Sabina Park where he launched Andrew Flintoff's second ball of the series way back over long on and high into the George Headley stand. It takes remarkable eye, skill, daring and composure to be able to do that.
But he has been missing from international cricket for a year now, since the 2011 World Cup, so the gain of IPL fans, and other Twenty20 leagues around the globe, has been a loss to West Indies cricket. And all down to an internecine, ultimately semantic argument over what he may or may not have said in a radio interview at which the West Indies Cricket Board took umbrage. For 12 months we have seen the equivalent of two bald men fighting over a comb.
The argument even extended into this week, perpetuated by what looks like nothing more than the intransigence, or even spite, of the WICB's chief executive, Ernest Hilaire. Boiled down, Hilaire, nitpicking to all intent and purpose, informed Gayle, that being willing to make himself available for West Indies, as he had said, and actually stating unequivocally that he was available did not amount to the same thing. Gayle had a contract to play for Somerset in this year's domestic T20, and wanted assurance that he would be selected for the limited overs leg of West Indies' tour of England, before he told the county that he was intending to renege on his contract. Hilaire said that he had to inform Somerset of his withdrawal before he would be considered. What utter nonsense, something that only serves to reinforce the view that West Indies cricket survives in spite of and not because of the WICB.
Happily even that appears to have been resolved. Gayle has informed Somerset that he will not now be taking up his contract with them and here is what he had to say about it: "I wish to advise that as of today, 2 May 2012, I have written to Somerset CCC and advised them that I will not be honouring the commitment I made to them when I signed a contract with them for the 2012 [Friends Life t20]. I made it clear to them that my decision was made because of my commitment to West Indies cricket and to West Indies cricket fans, and because … I believe that it is time for the WICB to make a decision which will provide a clearer view of my own future.
"I understand that by making this decision, it may place me in a position of considerable risk, since I am foregoing a signed contract, without any guarantees whatsoever, with only the hope that I will be selected to play for the West Indies again. I have now satisfied all of the requests of the WICB and their selection panel, with whom I met via teleconference yesterday, and to whom I reiterated previous assurances given to the board regarding my availability.
"So that there is no doubt, I confirmed to the selectors that I was available for West Indies duty in all forms of cricket, immediately following the conclusion of my contractual obligations to my IPL franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore."
So, "available for West Indies duty in all forms of cricket". That is good news for the summer and indeed beyond but why do I get the feeling that we haven't seen the last of an argument that has grown to involve not just the cricketer himself, or the WICB, but the Caribbean community Caricom and the prime ministers of St Vincent, Jamaica, and Antigua and Barbuda?
Saturday 5 May, 1.30pm update
The sight that has greeted the West Indies cricketers on the first day of their tour in England has been covers, dark skies and dampness. Heavy overnight rain has washed out day one of their three-day tour match against Sussex at Hove. Looking ahead, the West Indies coach believes his side have cultivated a "family atmosphere" under captain Darren Sammy. "The vibe is the guys tending to enjoy each other," said Gibson. "It's a good environment to be in - nice and relaxed, and you're looking round and seeing guys who are like a brother here and a brother there. You tend to pull for each other." That family were somewhat depleted today, though: three of their 15-man squad have yet to arrive, while Fidel Edwards is suffering from a back niggle.
Meanwhile, Ian Bell will get a chance to get some runs on the board in the England Lions match against the tourists. A back injury has ruled out Ben Stokes, meaning Bell can prove he has returned to form after his recent century for Warwickshire.
they've wished him well... saying it is in no one's interest to pursue the matter further....
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