Gayle: Where's the 14th player?

From MICHELLE McDONALD in St Kitts

West Indies captain Chris Gayle was in an outspoken and talkative mood ahead of the final two Digicel One Day Internationals to be played at Warner Park in St Kitts.  

Although the series has already been won by Australia, Gayle opened by saying that the team is playing for pride.  "People on the street have asked for a victory. We will be working hard to give the fans something to cheer about," he told journalists after training on Thursday.

[ SEE: Michelle McDonald's cricket photographs ]

But with some fresh sets of legs for the St Kitts matches, this argument will go through the window.  The uncapped Shawn Findlay is one of three new players drafted in so that the selectors can see as many cricketers as possible, looking towards the triangular series in Canada and the Champions Trophy scheduled for Pakistan.  Nikita Miller and Kemar Roach are the other two.  "It is also about trying to put pressure on other guys to perform. It is an opportunity. They need to come and stamp their authority," the West Indies captain explained.

According to Gayle, in his discussions with the selection panel, 14 names were discussed so he was surprised to have only 13 players to choose from.  "I don't know the reason behind that. A 14-man squad was selected. There are only 13 players here. A lot of things are happening and I don't know about. It's difficult in my situation. Things need to be put in place a bit more and focus on the cricket as well," said the outspoken captain.

Gayle was asked about the possibility of players opting for the more lucrative and stable county contracts, the Stanford tournament or the Indian leagues.  He warned that given the present insecure position some players find themselves in, the region could lose more of its cricketers to these other cricket leagues.  Gayle said "If they're [WICB] not careful, we're going to lose more players if they don't change the structure."

Apart from 1996 when the Rousseau administration implemented a retainer system which guaranteed that the retained players would be available for West Indies duties, cricketers have no obligation to remain in the West Indies.

Selected in the initial squad to face Sri Lanka in the 2008 Digicel Home Series, Pedro Collins declined the WICB's invitation, citing "prior contractual commitments."  He signed a two-year contract with Surrey as a Kolpak player in the ECB's league.  Dwayne Smith [Sussex], Wavell Hinds [Derbyshire], Omari Banks [Somerset], Jermaine Lawson [Leicester] and Corey Collymore [Sussex] also have assignments with English counties.

Regarding the structure of cricket in the region, Gayle said it is a good idea to have a longer first class season, as well as having matches running concurrently with the International home games.

"Guys finish their club cricket a bit early and you still have Test cricket going on. It is something we need to take into consideration, try and develop, make the first-class season a bit longer, so guys can come in and play good competitive cricket. It is always going to be difficult sitting at home and come into international cricket and expect to perform. We need to set some better programmes. We have the facilities here. We have to utilise them as much as possible," he suggested.  He also said that if players get dropped, they can go back to the first-class series.

Gayle is echoing what previous captains, coaches, managers and 'task force committees' have suggested over the years.  WICB President recently came out with some similar suggestions and issued a warning that the West Indies could face relegation unless their performance improves.  What was Gayle's take on that statement?

"It's no secret.  Regardless of what the President says, we know we need to improve our cricket. We need to go out there and show what we are made of and stop messing around. What the president has said ... understand my situation at this particular point in time. You can ask [Dinanath] Ramnarine [WIPA President] about it. He will give you a better answer on that side. Right now, the focus is to give the fans something to cheer about," Gayle stated.