Conflicting statements on Gayle

[roseboy64]

First the WICB ---> WICB: Gayle makes himself unavailable for Pakistan Series

Now Gayle ----> Windies froze me out, says emotional Gayle

Felt this would get lost in the series thread.


Also to note from someone else:

April 13, from Clyde Butts, as part of an official WICB release about the ODI squad:

"There are some familiar faces who have not been included on this occasion, but we have already identified the core of players who we will build the team around, however the time has come for us to introdice a fresh crop of players who we believe has a deep desire to excel and whocan be tested at international level."

The release went on to state (without quoting anyone):

Consistent with the policy to expose young players, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan were not selected.Adrian Barath has not yet attained a level of satisfactory fitness and was not considered for selection.

NO MENTION OF INJURY ON APRIL 13th.

April 14th, from Ernest Hilaire, speaking to Andrew Mason:

"Having established in your mind what the core of your team is that you plan to build around, you now need to find the other players who will fit into the squad and that is what the selectors are seeking to do......"

"Chris has not yet been invited to do a fitness test and I am sure when the team management is ready they will decide on him undergoing a fitness test."

What kind of statement is that?

Not yet invited.....when team management is ready?

So... based on the CEO's quote, the Board could not have been sure of the status of Gayle's fitness at the time of his ommission from the squad - they having not invited him to do a fitness test. So.....he could not have been left out of the squad based on fitness then.

Yet on April 19th, we hear this from Cricinfo, the source favoured by most who support the Board:

"The Board had Gayle under an injury management and recovery programme in Jamaica for an injury systained in the World Cup. The fact Gayle was taking part in a WICB supported recovery programme until he made the request is likely to further complicate the issue of whether or not he gets an NOC from the Board."

Who told Cricinfo that? It couldn't have been Butts....and it couldn't have been the CEO who said 5 days before that Gayle hadn't even had a fitness test....

Corporate communications has been and continues to be hit and miss with the WICB.

 

[roseboy64]

There was more to the interview but I missed it. He called out the captain, coach and the CEO. Said team was unbalanced due to the inclusion of Sammy and that the coach is a joke.

 

[BoyBrumby]

There was more to the interview but I missed it. He called out the captain, coach and the CEO. Said team was unbalanced due to the inclusion of Sammy and that the coach is a joke.

Can't comment about the rest, but I think he very definitely has a point about Sammy.

If a captain isn't a good enough player to make the XI on merit he needs to be a darn good skipper.

Sammy isn't.

 

[roseboy64]

This is the link to comments on his interview earlier ---> CaribbeanCricket.com - Gayle live on klas NOW!!!

Not read through it yet so must warn that it might be unreadable to people not understanding of the vernacular or contain inappropriate language.

 

[roseboy64]

"No one called me and said anything" before or after the headlines that said "Gayle dropped".
"The only communication was the physio on my BBM, I messaged him. I said I'm feeling okay. THen he said he'll send me a program. He was to send from ever since, which I didn't get. I got the program long after the IPL opportunity presented itself."

"The only communication was on BBM message."
"No [fitness] program was sent! No program was sent."
"I was forced to make this decision based on what was happening around me. Based on what happened to Sarwan and Chanderpaul. I wanted to play. I wanted to represented West Indies. That was my ultimate goal. Based on what was happening, I had to make that decision. An opportunity presented itself... a T20 squad was named, an ODI squad was named... listen, I had no other choice but to take the IPL contract."

"As soon as I asked for NOC. Everything mashup! Email start coming in left and right."

"Listen meh, I was playing cricket under a lot of pressure. I wasn't supposed to be at that World Cup... over one little simple thing. The CEO threatened me. I was threatened by the CEO that I will get dropped over one simple bit of information."
"I got a note from CEO to sign the World CUp contract. I replied to CEO asking if WIPA approved of the contract. The reply from CEO, copied by all three selectors and coach and lawyer and CEO himself... stating that we have someone on standby, if you don't sign this contract, you will be replaced for the World Cup. That eat me out during the World Cup."

"All I asked... does WIPA approve this contract? ... that's all I asked. Then the man send a letter threatening me."


"I'm the perfect target for them. They want to get rid of me. They want to get rid of WIPA. That's all this is about... to get rid of WIPA."

"I called a meeting with the coach and team to ask if he said bad things about me... That was my last game as captain. He denied all this. I didn't know all these things were written about me b this coach. If there is one coach that got my all, it was Ottis Gibson."

"I don't know what they trying. They turn to Bravo now. They gave him the vice captain. They take away the captain from me and they take away the VC from Bravo... now they gone back to Bravo... I don't know what they trying."

"They say they have unproductive talk with Chris Gayle. I wrote to board, asked board for simple NOC for Big Bash and IPL. I never heard from there. Sri Lanka tour came up, I got a triple hundred in the Test match. THe CEO then called askign waht I wanted to do pertaining to IPL. I said I'd love to play full IPL. CEO said "no, that can't work..."\

"In SL, when I got the triple century. I said to myself that I'll give Test cricket a break. I was going through a lot. I was going back and forth in my mind. Pressure was piling up. I didn't make any decision. I didn't know what CEO discussed with Bravo and Pollard. I didn't know their productive talk with 'the doctor'."

 

[Quaggas]

Can't comment about the rest, but I think he very definitely has a point about Sammy.

If a captain isn't a good enough player to make the XI on merit he needs to be a darn good skipper.

Sammy isn't.

Hey, CSA thinks (thought?) Botha is (was) skipper material for the SA ODI side...

 

[roseboy64]

"Just before the IPL auction, I got an email from teh CEO if I'm retiring from Test cricket. I found that very strange. IT sounded like he wanted me to retire so he can continue to screw me over."

"They want to question me about my commitment to WI cricket. We bruk finger and bat. You know who is the most hardcore cricketer for West INdies?!?!? You know who that is.... Chris Gayle."

"The World Cup was a statement. If any player can come out publicly and say they were in the right frame of mind to play cricket... ah lie dem a tell"

"They threatening players. They're using the fitness thing to threaten players. You can make ten ducks in a row and still make the team... as long as you fit like a fiddle... That's the system they have now... Fitness, fitness, fitness..."

"every coach come with the same format... fitness, fitness, fitness... 24/7. Man to man, Australia team no fitter than we. You think India fitter than we?"

"Ah joke Coach Ottis Gibson ah mek!"

"Wavell played the T20 World Cup. He was 32 yrs. The coach look to him and say Wavell, you too old, yu not in my program. Two days later, Dale Richards came in .. and he's older than Wavell."

"Say he tek West Indies cricket at heart"
says coach comes to them and say once you reach 30 you finish
Once you reach 30 you not fit for the programme.
But then you still have other players coming in and playing for West Indies Cricket.

This is copied from someone else. Continued below...

"My bat do my talking. You check the stats. That's how I survived for so long... You check the stats.."
"Chris Gayle don't interfere with people. I do things willingly from my heart. I sacrifice my work ethic to help other players. But I always get hte blame."


"I was called into a room in front of all the selectors... people in front of computers... asking why I didn't sign (retainer)contract. I told them it did not sound right. The contract covers everything from WI cricket to local club cricket. If Lucas want me to play, I can't go and play nowhere else. The contract ties me down to everything... to WI, to Jamaica, to club level..."

"The WICB can stop me from everything... they can determine every move I make."

 

[roseboy64]

"I didn't sign the retainer because I didn't want to be bogged down. They have someone on the computer taking minutes. They can publish it publicly and let people see what my explanation was."

"I wanted to go and captain the team at the World Cup. I was in a meeting and they begged me to take it. Before SA series, Ottis Gibson had jsut come on board. Gibson begged me to stay as captain."

"That's why I couldn't believe those things he (Gibson) said about me. He saying I lacked leadership. But he was the bwling coach of England and he knew he was getting the WI job. He *begged* me to stay as captain."

"He was saying "Stay Chris, I'm coming..."

"I wasn't officially appointed as captain for the WC. The same coach, when his back was against the wall, who did he turn to? He turned to Chris Gayle."

Gibson" "Chris what you think?"

"I played my role, I gave my input."

 

[roseboy64]

"The coach is a user. That's what he is. He is a user."

 

[roseboy64]

"I hope this interview is going all over the world. I'm clearing my name. Don't come putting me as a bad apple."

"Another thing... as much as people want to look at WIPA as bad. Current players and players to come in teh future, if there's no WIPA, y'all are going to suffer."

"Yall should thank WIPA. WIPA has done a lot for players locally, internationally, grassroots..."

"Players literally come to me..they don't know nothing about WIPA. They asking me about WIPA... saying that board members complain and saying they shouldn't get involved with WIPA."

"Ramnarine has done everything to educate the players. But the players listen to board members. Players should thank WIPA for everything."

"You think that if I didn't get an IPL contract.. you think I would get a layaway like Pollard and Bravo?... Them say they will side with those two... and show up Chris Gayle..."

"The CEO had a discussion with the players... he was cursing Pollard, saying he was money-hungry... He asked Pollard if 2020 was real cricket."

 

[roseboy64]

"Who the people want to come watch? Nuh Chris Gayle?" "Dem can't trick me"

"Me and Sarwan sit down and talk after the World Cup. Sarwan was messed up mentally. The coach messed up the man mentally. The players were not in the right frame of mind."

"Sarwan was batting without a free mind. Players told me they lost confidence. No confidence at all. A player speak his mind in team meeting openly... The player said his piece... After that, he never play a World Cup match. But me talk with my mouth and me talk with my bat."

I guess the above is about Miller or Benn.

 

[roseboy64]

"We won a couple of series in between. I beat him when he was coach (of England). I can't sleep properly. I need to get this off my chest. I want everybody to print what I said, I want to clear the air and I want them to ease up. WICB, back up offa my back."

 

[roseboy64]

"I'm available for selection for West Indies. I'm still the hardest fighting cricket for WI. Me willing fe dead out for WI cricket. Some things I do, nuff players never do yet."

"One leg, me nuh tek injection, and still go mek runs. Tek catch with one hand. Nuff man sit down and **** up dem foot."

 

[roseboy64]

"I respect Sammy long time. But it was not the right time for him to be captain. He wasn't cemented in the team. It created animosity in the team within the final XI. We could never get the balance right. In the ODI format, it messed up the XI (to play Sammy)"

"Why do they want to stop my earning? I see things publish in the media..on the internet... about what they are "erning" LOL

 

[roseboy64]

"I cna't stop bigging up WIPA. WIPA mek we eat food... mek we contract in order. WIPA is 24/7 in the corner for WI players. Players need to understand that. If it wasn't for WIPA, you'd still be earning $2.00 for first class players."

"THey don't like Ramnarine because him talk the truth. They don't like the truth. The truth always hurts."

"I'm not boasting or anything. Whether I'm captain or not, I can still get the best out of players. The respect level is still high. Whether I am captain or not."

"Stop putting too much pressure on the players. Give them some leeway. Every particular coach come thru... focus on one thing only.. the physical part. I see it as a punishment. We lose test match, we get 20 laps. You have to do 20 laps around the field."
"You can't have people running up and down like dem a fool..."

"They making too much press release now. Nobody knows what Chris thinking. They going overboard now, putting out all kinds of releases. So I decided to clear the air."

 

[roseboy64]

The End

 

[Quaggas]

TBH, I lost a lot of respect for Gayle after the "would not be sad if test cricket died out" comment. His subsequent retractions just seemed like furious backpedaling to me, in the mold of a Hollywood spin-meister.

Can't unsay certain things, so unless he never said that....

 

[shivfan]

I'm not bothered by Gayle's comments about Test cricket - at least he's honest enough to have said out loud what quite a few cricketers around the world were saying privately. Look how many Aussie and Kiwi cricketers have retired from international cricket, but are still enjoying a career as a 20/20 player in the IPL....

And look at Malinga, who would rather play IPL than tour England, and remember Murali's criticisms of SLC over how their camp will cut into the time SL players play in the IPL.

There's a synopsis of roseboy's comprehensive quotes in this cricinfo article....

West Indies news: Gayle slams WICB over IPL-over-country issue | West Indies Cricket News | ESPN Cricinfo

It's good to see that cricinfo have finally caught up with the story of Gayle going to the IPL, which was broken on caribbeancricket.com long before!

 

[hang on]

shivfan,

but malinga has generally not been an ideal bowler for tests in terms of his fitness. 4 overs every couple of days as opposed to 20 a day for 2 days on the trot and then possibly another 15 or so after a couple of days has a completely different toll on the body. that said, it is, indeed, a pity that malinga will not be touring. still remember the rocket with which he almost knocker pietersen's block off in 2007. what a nightmarish ball!

 

[Jono]

Lol shivfan, are you suggesting Hayden, Gilchrist and Warne don't care about test cricket just because they retired and are playing IPL?

Their situations (retiring in their late 30s) is completely different to Gayle.