'They Know Who I Am'

Thu, May 29, '08

 

interview by MICHELLE McDONALD in Jamaica

They say you should never judge a book by its cover.  However, those on the outside of the inner workings of the West Indies cricket team, do not have the benefit of reading 'the book.'  If the West Indies Cricket Board Executives could have sought the opinion of those in the know when deciding whether to ratify the selectors' captaincy recommendation, they would have voted only one way.

The book that is Chris Gayle, is one that the majority might not have picked to read, had there been a wide choice.  They would have used his past 'indiscretions' to inform their decision.  Surely the selectors had gone berserk when they threatened to resign if their recommendation was not ratified.  What a stance to take over one whose off the field career had been so checkered, and about whom reports of an indifferent or even disrespectful attitude had previously surfaced!

'They know who I am' was Chris Gayle's response when I asked him how his laid back and seemingly nonchalant personality works with his team mates, now that he is captain.  There are early signs that it is working out brilliantly.  He has a 50% win record so far.  Unfortunately injured and unable to play in the first Test against Australia, Gayle had time to talk to CaribbeanCricket.com about captaincy on Day 3 of the match. 

Just as his suitability shouldn't have been judged without sufficient evidence, he does not wish the public, or the media, to talk so effusively about his captaincy….not just yet. 

Chris, the talking point in the last six months has been the victories over South Africa and Sri Lanka.  Before that, there was the win in the One Day series against England.  The media has talked about how the team seems to be playing with a greater level of commitment and consistency, and that you have united the team.  What do you make of all the hype?

First of all, it wasn't all about just me as an individual to take all credit, but credit goes to everyone. I thought we played particularly well.  We lost Sarwan in the Test series against England and then Daren Ganga took over in the final Test and eventually I was named captain for the One Day series.  It's always pleasing to captain the West Indies.  It's very good.  It's something I didn't really look forward to but at the same time I do accept it. 

The victory in England was very good.  It was a good start for me as well.  Then we moved on to South Africa, we won the first Test match and then eventually we lost the series 2-1.  A lot of injuries came into play in that series so it wasn't something we could blame our selves for…put it that way.  The team effort was really really brilliant and I commend the guys and the management team for everything.

Do you think it is too early in your captaincy for people to be so full of praise?

Definitely.  I think it's really too early.  I only captained three or four Test matches.  It's really too early.  This [test match] was an opportunity I was looking for to test my skill against the best team in the world, but unfortunately I'm injured. But everything takes time.  You can't just come and say he's doing a good job. You have to give things time and hopefully you can make your judgment from there on.  You want to play against the best team in the world and see how well you can cope with that.  That was an opportunity missed. There is nothing I can do about it more than just try and get back fit and hopefully I will be ready again in a couple of games.

Who would you say is the best captain you have played under? 

I played under so many captains…who were the ones?  Carl Hooper, Brian Lara, Jimmy Adams were some.  But I'd say that Carl Hooper was a really cool captain.  He was easy going and really didn't experiment too much.  But every captain is different so you can't pin point and say exactly who is the best captain.  Everybody has their own style.  All captains were good.

What are some of the strategies and tactics have you borrowed from any of the captains you have played under?

It's not only just the captains I've played under but also the captains I've played against.  The more I play the game, the more experience I get and the more you learn the game as well, but you saw a few things like how you can come up with field plans and those sort of things. Everybody chipped in.  There is a learning process where you learn from everyone – Brian, Carl Hooper, Jimmy Adams or whosoever is on the opponents as well.  You just watch the captain's tactics.  So that was a learning process for me, and playing so many games as well really help me to be more confident.

When the team does poorly, should the captain take most of the blame?

Well, whether we do poorly or good, it's always about the captain. No one else seems to get the blame.  It's an important role and it's not an easy role.  Everything is upon your shoulder so you have to prepare for it mentally so when that situation comes, then you know how to deal with it.  It's always about the captain, what field position he set, what change of bowling he uses, so it's always upon our shoulder to go out there and get the job done. 

Having said that, as a captain you have to be willing to take the blame in whatever circumstances it may be, but still be strong at the same time and still be positive in whatever decision you have to make.

What factors would you want to be used to evaluate how successful a captain you are?

The relationship between the players….and it's really really good. I played against some of them in the U-19 level and played with them for West Indies U-19 as well.  We came up strong and we enjoy each other's company on and off the field, so it makes my job really easy.

So would you say one of the factors to judge how successful you are is the relationship you have with the players?

Yes, and the respect we have for each other.  Everybody knows their boundary, know when to cross it.  You don't want to cross other people's boundary at the wrong time.  That's the way you can build team spirit, so those things are very important.

The first time we heard your name mentioned as captaincy material, it was by Brian Lara after the 2004 Champions Trophy win.  Were you surprised to hear him say that?

Well to be honest, he had mentioned captaincy about me a few times before he made that statement but I didn't really take it on as much as most people would. I just let it pass.  But he must have seen something inside of me to come out and make that statement.  We played a few practice games in South Africa and I captained one innings.  He gave everybody an opportunity to captain and I captained one game in India.  That was my first One Day International I captained, so he must have seen something to come out and say that.

I bet if the public, the media, the WICB Executive were asked, they would have had a different answer.

Yes, because my personality, most people might get the wrong impression about me.  There has been a lot of speculation before actually my name was called as captain.  I always was in the media for different reasons. Most people might be a bit surprised to hear my name mentioned as captain and say Chris Gayle is not captain material.

But it's something I've done as a kid growing up, I always have responsibility whether it's cricket or off the field issues.  It's nothing…..it's a talent really because it's all in the family. Everybody played cricket, you grew up around it so much and you played against so many good players so it wasn't anything to me really.

What were your thoughts when the WICB's Executive Committee initially rejected the selectors' recommendation for you to be captain for the Twenty/20 and One Day series in England?

At that time……that's history now to be honest and I don't really want to debate back on that. That is already gone and finished and dealt with so really right now I want to let that slide.

So the 'hurt and disappointment' is gone. 

Well there was no hurt and disappointment. Everything just went as it did.

Well that's what you wrote in your diary.

Well that was then.

Were you aware that the selectors threatened to resign?

[surprised] Threatened to resign?

Yes. They said if the WICB didn't accept their recommendations they would have resigned.

No, I didn't know that. I didn't know that.

How does that make you feel?

Well…[laughs] How it makes me feel?  I didn't know all these things were happening.  It's already done already so I can't really comment on those things.

Do you think comments by the Captain, or any team member, should be checked or approved by the Board, the Coach or the Manager or the Media Officer before they are made public? 

That's something everybody is working around now.  Make sure we know what is happening. It's been going good so far so hopefully it can continue in the same vein.

Well I guess you are more watchful now that you are captain, about what you say.

Well whatever needs to be said, it needs to be said, regardless of who I am.

In your first series, what were the signs that you had the support of all of the guys?

The signs were in their body language and in the preparations. It's a total total different scenario.  The guys really practiced really really hard especially in what was no secret – our fielding.  We really need to work hard on that and we decided and said let us turn up and enjoy the fielding session.  Guys are really working on their games now. Everybody is becoming more mature and getting to understand what it needs to make runs out there and get wickets.

And of course, you have a very inexperienced set of players.  How easy or difficult it is to captain such a team?

They are inexperienced and at the same time young.  The majority of them have been in and out quite a few times but the likes of [Shivnarine] Chanderpaul and [Ramnaresh] Sarwan – the two more experienced players along with myself – can actually contribute in whatever way we can to the younger players and then pass on whatever information we can.  It's been really really good and we tell them to enjoy the game and work hard on it. It's not going to be easy.  Nothing comes easy in life.

Leadership is about character traits/personality and results. First of all, how do you get results? 

How do you get results?  By practising well, doing the basic things right.  Once you can get a good start in any format of the game, whether it's bowling or batting, that can actually set the tone for the entire game so that's key for us. That is something we are trying to work on.  In a three match series, we sometimes find ourselves 0-1 down, we find ourselves working at bit harder on those things.  We want to do that from the start, and try not to play catch up game, but try to actually start from front.

In the South Africa Test, what do you think you did in particular to get the victory?

It was really more determination – how bad we really wanted it. The guys really wanted it. I had been injured and on the sidelines again and hadn't played much games.  I was really really determined to play in that first game as well. The guys inspired me a lot to come out there, and fulfill that history-making test match. 

As I said before, the guys were very determined.  A lot of speculation was in the media about the team which lost the four day game in about two or three days. So we were underdogs and we went into that game fighting.  The South Africa team is beatable.  Let's just make that clear.  Any team is beatable.

What kind of person would you say you are? 

I am very moody.  It depends on what mood you catch Chris Gayle in.  Sometimes it might be good, sometimes I might be a bit quiet.

So how does that work when you are captain?

They know who I am.  Sometimes I don't talk much.  Regardless of what the conversation is, I'll be in the bus quiet same way.  They would be having their conversations around me. I would be just listening, I'm more observant.  Most of the guys understand it. They say that that kind of helps the team to gain more respect for you, maybe because they think I've never been hard on anyone.  When that time does occur, then I will let them know.

How important is family to you in your personal life?

Family is always important.  Family is very very important to everyone.  My cricketing career started from the family.  My brothers represented their country and then I wanted to represent my country as well as the younger brother. So those things are very important. In those days I used to train with my brothers. We played on the same team.  Mum and Dad are always supportive as well.  My girlfriend also offers full support. Family is very important for anyone. It's just that we are always away from them. 

What do you do to encourage your team mates to treat each other like family? 

It's our surroundings right now.  When we are on tour no one is around their family so we have to unite as one.  Everybody is from different territories.  Over the years, everybody get to know each other and then we see how we can cope with each other.

As captain, you now have to face the media a lot more.  The impression one got in the past was that it wasn't your most favourite thing to do.  Is that true?

It is still not my favourite thing.  Still, definitely not my favourite thing  to always be in front of the cameras.  But as you go on, you get accustomed to it.  It's something I have to do. You just have to set your mind to do it.  Whenever I can avoid it, I will avoid it, definitely.

When people get promoted, they generally change the way they do some things, in order to lead by example.  What have you consciously changed? 

That's a must.  With more responsibility there has to be some sort of curb in your attitude or whatever the case may be.  But having said that, I, as an individual, I am not really going to change too much to be honest with you. I will always be myself. You just know when to do certain things and how well you can cope with the situation at the same time as well. I will always be me and basically what needs to be done at any particular time, then be strong about it and go well about it.

In England last year, you said if it were up to you, you wouldn't have a curfew.  Is there a curfew now?

[Laughs] No, there is no curfew.