Chris Gayle can save Test cricket

By Orville Higgins

Chris Gayle's astonishing 175 not out in the IPL is still being widely talked about. The innings itself is astonishing enough: 175 from 66 balls with 17 sixes is unheard of, and the admission by Chris that he "slowed down" in the middle is mind-boggling.

We celebrate the innings and, indeed, the man now, but the real significance of what Chris Gayle and his flashing blade might come to mean for cricket down the road might be lost on most of us.

Twenty20 cricket is not going anywhere, and it's not unreasonable to feel that in another 20 years, it will be more played than any other format. Because 20/20 cricket offers players the kind of financial incentives that can match what is paid by some sports in North America, youngsters will naturally gravitate towards this shortened format.

Chris is the most successful batsman in this form of the game and will be the prototype for future young batsmen to emulate. When Shane Warne came on the scene in the early '90s, he almost single-handedly revived the art of leg-spin bowling. Youngsters who would normally see bowling spin almost as a personal affront started to trundle in and try to bowl leg breaks. I wouldn't be surprised if Chris has the same effect on the next generation regarding T20s.

Probably the next generation will want to bulk up in the gym, defying the conventional practice of batsmen to be smaller in stature than pacemen. Young upcoming cricketers will want to study the technique of Chris Gayle. They will watch his wide-footed stance at the crease. They will watch the way how he keeps his head, and indeed his feet, still until the last possible moment.

They will study his calm unruffled demeanour at the crease. They will notice that he has the ability to play shots all around the ground, but they will also notice that he doesn't swipe. They will realise that his essentials are sound. He watches the ball closely. He plays it late.

The young upcoming cricketer will realise that this thing about using your feet is generally a misunderstood term. Chris Gayle has been criticised very often for being poor with his foot movements. That assessment is an exaggeration. He is told often that he doesn't get close enough to the ball outside the off stump, but that is an overrated advice. When driving, it is ideal that your front foot be close to the pitch of the delivery, but when cutting, you actually at times have to back away and make room.

GAYLE REWRITING TEXTBOOK

Using your feet is not about chipping down the track to spinners. It primarily means putting yourself in the best position to execute your shots. None can deny that Chris is usually very balanced when he is carting bowlers around. You can't be balanced if your feet are in the wrong position. Chris Gayle, more than any other contemporary batsman, has demonstrated that you don't have to follow conventional rules to be hugely successful.

As Tony Cozier rightly said, he may well be the best all-round batsman in the game. How many people have two Test triple centuries and yet be the most feared assassin on the 2020 scene?

What makes all this interesting is that the future young cricketer may well decide that all this copying of Chris Gayle's technique in 2020 may also serve him well in Test cricket. The mentee would learn surely, that, in Test cricket, he will, at times, have to be more patient as pitch conditions and match situations dictate, but he doesn't have to abandon his intentions and missions to decide that he is going at the bowler.

Test cricket is a dying spectacle. People now want more instant excitement and entertainment than Test cricket has to offer. Five-day cricket would no doubt benefit from having batsmen who are of more attacking mindsets. Chris Gayle, and others of his type, may well be more important to the future of Test cricket than we know.

Chris once joked that he didn't like Test cricket and wouldn't mind seeing it die. The irony is that he may well be among the best persons to help save it.

Orville Higgins is a sportscaster and talk-show host at KLAS FM. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.