C365 Player of the Week – Chris Gayle

Cricket365
July 20, 2013

You know how usually a player gets hyped up beyond all possible imagining, and then they fall flat on their faces when the time comes to deliver? Chris Gayle is not one of those players.

You know how usually a player gets hyped up beyond all possible imagining, and then they fall flat on their faces when the time comes to deliver? Chris Gayle is not one of those players, and so he receives our coveted Player of the Week gong.

We were going to give it to him last week, following his 85 not out and 53 in the T20 series against New Zealand, but we decided it wouldn't be fair to CONSTANTLY write about how great this 'big-hitting Jamaican', as he is usually referred to, has been since his comeback.

Gayle spent 14 months out of the Windies team, following a bust-up with the WICB over his playing in the IPL and other T20 tournaments. So he spent his time away doing what he does best: destroying bowlers in India, Australia and Bangalore in those self-same tournaments, pocketing megabucks in the process.

When the WICB, along with various politicians and high-rollers, convinced the Master Blaster to return to the international game, he did it with style and made sure all the column inches devoted to him were not written in vain.

So this week, it is only fair that he gets recognised for his efforts since his return to the maroon kit. He smashed 63 not out off 57 balls to lead his side to a nine-wicket demolition of the Kiwis in the first ODI.

He then added insult to the Black Caps' vast injury list by utterly mangling their bowling order in the second ODI in Kingston, hitting 125 off 107 balls as the home side romped to a 55-run win.

So here's to you, Chris Gayle, for living up to the hype, and for making ODI cricket exciting again for the Caribbean fans, and for reviving your team's spirits when they needed it most.

<b>By Lindsay du Plessis</b>