BRISTOL, England, CMC – West Indies skipper Chris Gayle is hoping to mark his 200th One-Day International with a victory against England in the second One-Day International today.
The embattled Jamaican has already garnered 7 259 runs in 199 matches and says a win would make the occasion even more special.
“It’s another milestone in my career and I’m happy to be able to play in my 200th ODI for the West Indies. It is an honour,” said Gayle, who has been under fire for recent comments suggesting he planned to quit the captaincy.
“What would be really nice is if we could beat England and that would be more even more memorable. My 100th match was also against England at Lord’s and I got a hundred.
“It would be nice to get off to a good start and go on to take the series,” added Gayle who made his ODI debut in 1999 against India and has since pummeled 19 centuries.
The ODI series has been reduced to a two-match affair after the scheduled opening game at Headingley was rained out Thursday.
West Indies are aiming to redeem themselves in the series after a 2-0 blowout in the preceding Test series.
Greeted with sunny weather and encouraging conditions, Gayle urged his side to play strong cricket as they looked to take the lead in the shortened series.
“Everyone is looking to make some kind of impact. It doesn’t matter who. We would love everyone to be on top of their game so we could have a near perfect game,” Gayle said Saturday.
“That would be lovely. We want the guys to go out there and establish themselves and that would be wonderful.”
