Gayle raps WICB

Wed, Jun 20, '07

 

West Indies ODI captain Chris Gayle isn't a happy camper and he's not holding back about his frustration with the way the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is operating.

In a forthright diary entry, the Jamaican left-hander says he's "very disappointed in the WICB" for its failure to make early arrangements for Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith and Austin Richards to travel to England to join the one-day side. "As the captain I have to say that this is very very disappointing and it is not a very good start at all," Gayle said.

Gayle said he was "hurt and disappointed" that he did not get the full support of the board when he was nominated by the West Indies selectors to fill in as captain for the ODI and 20/20 series.

"This led to the situation where I did not have a chance to have an input in selecting the team. However I have accepted the job and I have to move on with it, we must move forward together," he added.

"Things like these (late arrival of the ODI players) won’t make us a better team. Once things like these happen it wont make West Indies cricket move forward and would not make it better," Gayle said.

Gayle said the WICB is always talking about players needing to change but he argued that the players need changes from the board as well. "We can't be out in the wilderness all the time because we are the ones who are getting all the blame."

"These are some of the things that we as players have to go through. The WICB says they want the best out of players but we also need the best out of the WICB, he added.