West Indies Cricket Players
Brian
Lara |
Chris Gayle |
Corey Collymore |
Denesh
Ramdin |
Devon Smith
|
Dwayne Bravo |
Dwayne
Smith |
Jermaine Lawson
|
Marlon Samuels |
Omari
Banks |
Ramnaresh Sarwan
|
Ricardo Powell |
Shiv
Chanderpaul |
Wavell Hinds
|
Joel Garner |
Andy
Roberts |
Cameron Cuffy
Chris Gayle
A thrusting Jamaican left-hander, Gayle earned himself a black mark on his first senior tour - to England in 2000 - where the new boys were felt to be insufficiently respectful of their elders. But a lack of respect, for opposition bowlers at least, has served Gayle well since then. Tall and imposing at the crease, he loves to carve through the covers off either foot, and has the ability to decimate the figures of even the thriftiest of opening bowlers. In a lean era for West Indian cricket - and fast bowling in particular - Gayle's pugnacious approach has become an attacking weapon in its own right. His 79-ball century at Cape Town in January 2004, on the back of a South African first innings of 532, was typical of his no-holds-barred approach. However, Gayle's good run ended when England came calling early in 2004, and he averaged 26 against their potent pace attack - Steve Harmison, in particular, fancied his chances against Gayle, dismissing him four times in seven innings, as a lack of positive footwork was exposed. But men with little footwork often baffle experts, and after returning to form with an uncharacteristic century against Bangladesh, he exacted his revenge on England's bowlers with a battering not seen since Lara's 400, before coming within a whisker of emulating Lara himself, with a career-best 317 against South Africa in Antigua. He also bowls brisk non-turning offspin, with which he has turned himself into a genuine one-day allrounder
