Why punish Chris?

Our best batsman, Chris Gayle, sat in the stands as the West Indies team struggled and was eventually beaten in the first Test by a second-string Indian team.

That is not to say that if Gayle was in the team it would have won. Nothing of the sort. However, the inclusion of Gayle would have guaranteed that the most exciting West Indies batsman currently would have been on show, and who to tell, given the opportunity, he probably would have slaughtered the friendly Indian pace bowling. Such is the state of the West Indies cricket, however, that nothing is certain except defeat.

Despite defeat after defeat, first against Pakistan and now against India, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) seems hell-bent on keeping Gayle out of the team. This has resulted in Ernest Hilaire, the chief executive officer of the WICB; Ottis Gibson, the coach of the team; Dinanath Ramnarine, the president of the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA); and Chris Gayle himself, being engaged in verbal and written exchanges which have been flying left, right and centre across the Caribbean Sea.

Batting of Gayle

The raw power of Chris Gayle with bat in hand is a sight to behold. Ricky Ponting, the captain of Australia, regards him as the most destructive batsman he has ever seen. Ponting should know, as he has played with some of the hardest hitters of the ball, including Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden. Who can forget Ponting throwing the ball to Australian speedster Brett Lee. Lee enthusiastically grabbed the ball, walked towards the boundary, spun around, jumped and then broke into an increasingly athletic run towards the wicket, sprung into the air, and let go the ball at 93 miles per hour, only to see Gayle open up his mighty shoulders, swing his bat, causing the ball to disappear over the long on boundary for one of the longest sixes ever. In that over, Gayle hammered Lee for 26 runs.

It is this kind of powerhouse approach which makes Gayle one of the most exciting batsmen today. He does not generate excitement by being a touch player. One who moves his feet and in a swan-like fashion guides the ball across the turf. No. On the contrary, his feet are usually planted, heavily laden, thus making his batting technique unfriendly on the eyes. Yet, his hand and eye coordination gives him that special edge. He is able to pick up the line and length of the fastest or slowest balls very quickly  and, in a flash, applying raw unadulterated power, is able to put the best bowler to shame.

Domestic and International Cricket

No wonder he is in such demand. He is being inundated with invitations to play in all types of matches in different countries. That is now the nature of international cricket. Players, like Gayle, are now caught in the middle of the tug-of-war between international and local commitments.

That is what led former captain Clive Lloyd, in May 2009, to question his late arrival in England, less than two days before the start of the first Test match. Gayle had stayed on to complete his commitment with his team at the Indian Premier League, resulting in him arriving late for the Test in England. With a short shelf life in cricket, good cricketers like Gayle have to try to earn sufficient funds to keep them going when they can no longer play the game.

The comments by Lloyd came on the heels of Gayle expressing, then, his preference for the shorter version of the game. He also revealed, at the time, that he had only assumed the leadership of the team because he was pressured into the job. It was very clear from then that Gayle never relished the leadership responsibility, and it was equally very clear that if given an opportunity, he would play 20/20 over and above Test matches. Despite Gayle's utterances, he always had a very good relationship with the players. Somehow he was always able to get them to listen to him, and they respected him.

The current charges and countercharges, therefore, regarding Gayle's non-selection to the West Indies team seems to be rooted in the fact that he has a certain influence over the players. The first sign of this was the unfortunate utterances by Hilary Beckles, a director of the board, who insensitively characterised Gayle as a don, clearly suggesting that whatever real or perceived indiscipline which may exist among the more experienced cricketers, comes about as a direct result of Jamaican donmanship, fostered, cultivated and inspired by Gayle.

Theory into Practice

Soon, thereafter, the board moved to put Beckles' theory into practice. It moved to isolate him. According to Gayle, the board showed little or no interest to an injury which he had developed. Further, the board made no attempt to contact him regarding his availability or non-availability for the recently concluded home series against Pakistan. Gayle also spoke about Coach Gibson's negative attitude towards him and the more senior players, meaning Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, during the last World Cup.

For his public criticism of the coach and members of the board, Gayle is being further ostracised. According to Hilaire, no doubt supported by other board members, Gayle should not be considered for selection until he meets with members of the board. So in Jamaica, Hilaire, Richie Richardson, Gibson, Anthony Howard, Ramnarine and Wavell Hinds huddled to deal with the issue. The meeting ended, not surprisingly, in disarray, with no clear timeline or framework for a resolution of the issue. On the contrary, the stand-off widened.

Inexplicably, after the meeting the WICB declared that while it wished to resolve the issue, it wanted nothing to do with Ramnarine. WIPA, of course, would have none of it. The WICB has no authority to determine who WIPA selects to act on its behalf. Of course, WIPA, while being very forthright in rejecting the board's position, must also, in the interest of West Indies cricket, continuously examine its strategic and tactical approach in order to guarantee the best possible result on behalf of those it represents.

As the WICB and WIPA stiffen their respective positions, and the team continues to be outclassed by the Indians, Gibson, in an effort to bolster his credentials, has bragged that the West Indies are now operating as a better unit under his watch. In support of this position, he argues that the team is now able to bowl out India twice in a Test match. In other words, the team can do without Gayle.

Yet, Gibson is also reported to have said;

"The board knows my feelings on the whole thing, and we are trying to build a team, a team that is competitive and starts to win. We have not been doing that for a while, and everybody has a part to play in this, and Chris Gayle has a part to play in it, if he chooses."

According to Gibson, therefore, it is Gayle's choice whether he plays or not. However, Gayle is saying that since the failed meeting in Kingston, he has made further attempts to resolve the stand-off by writing to Hilaire and meeting with Gibson, and team manager, Richardson, but to no avail. So who is to be believed, Gibson or Gayle?

Deafening Silence

In all of this, the silence of the president of the WICB, Julian Hunte; the president of the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA), Lyndel Wright; and the Government of Jamaica, through the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Olivia Grange, is deafening. Hunte, no doubt, has asked Hilaire to be his mouthpiece, so we can assume that if Hilaire does not want Gayle and Hunte remains quiet, then Hunte does not want Gayle. What about Vice-President Dave Cameron, a Jamaican, to boot. One can also assume, Cameron having not spoken, that he, too, does not want Gayle to play.

Does the leadership of the JCA have a position on the Gayle matter, if so, what is it? I am sure that the president is engaged in some behind-the-scenes work, but in a world where communication is the order of the day and everyone else has spoken on the matter, the silence of the JCA is difficult to understand.

In fact, Gayle has been critical of the JCA:

"As for the Jamaica Cricket Association, they have let me down badly, even though I did meet with the new president of the JCA, Mr Wright, and Mr Hinds, but nothing has been done."

The response of the JCA and the Jamaican Government is different from what happened in Guyana. The WICB shunted Sarwan and Chanderpaul at the start of series. It gave no good reason. The Guyana Cricket Association and persons at the level of government came out swinging, and the WICB backed off.

As for the minister of youth, sports and culture, she has, apparently decided to play deaf and dumb. But how could she? The region's best-performing batsman is being treated like a footstool by the WICB and our minister of sport remains silent. We need to hear what is the position of the Government on this matter.

The only hope to resolve this matter seems to be the announced intervention of CARICOM. Already, the newly elected chairman, Dr Denzil Douglas, has indicated that the Prime Ministerial Subcommittee on Cricket under the leadership of the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Baldwin Spencer, will be revived. It, too, had gone dead. I call on Mr Spencer to bring all the parties together as quickly as possible to try and resolve the matter. Despite Gayle's indiscretions, it is not fair to have one of the world's leading batsmen languishing, while West Indies cricket continues to suffer.

Delano Franklyn is an attorney-at-law. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm and delanofranklyn@gmail.com