WELLINGTON // Chris Gayle remains committed to playing all three formats for the West Indies, even though he is scheduled to miss the forthcoming Test series against England to play in the Indian Premier League.
Gayle made light of back and groin injuries as he hit eight sixes in a 33-ball innings of 61 in the hefty defeat to New Zealand at the Wellington Regional Stadium.
At the end of his innings, despite the parlous state of the match situation for his side, Gayle lingered as he saluted the crowd before crossing the boundary.
Speculation suggested it might have been the 35-year-old opener’s final appearance for the West Indies, but he is set to play on.
West Indies captain Jason Holder said Gayle’s movement had been impaired by a long-standing back injury, as well as a groin strain he sustained while fielding.
However, he praised him for getting their reply off to such a fast start, even though the chase eventually faltered.
“Chris has been the same he has been for the past few years,” said Holder, who claimed he had enjoyed his debut competition captaining the West Indies, despite their early exit.
“He is not the most agile of players around, he is quite slow and that is Chris. We needed him to come out and be very aggressive. We were chasing 394 and we couldn’t just lay over and play dead. Credit to him for the way he played.”
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