-Australia media heap plaudits on West Indies captain
Chris Gayle arrived in Australia in November, his suitability to be reinstated as captain of a West Indies team recently racked, almost wrecked, by a players’ strike in which he was to the forefront, widely questioned.
Within the first couple of weeks, his despair had deepened. His mother was so ill he jetted back to Kingston to be by her bedside in hospital.
Settled by her recovery, he returned to Brisbane two days before the first Test only to preside over defeat by an innings within three days and be the butt of biting censure in the local media.
Less than a month later, the tall, easy-going Jamaican yesterday received both the Player of the Match and the Player of the Series awards at the WACA ground, even after defeat by 35 runs in a hard-fought final Test confirmed a 2-0 series loss.
There was the satisfying follow-up of the universal praise for him and his team in the Australian press – and from the opposing counterpart, Ricky Ponting.
“I think the important thing for him on this tour is he’s actually stood up as a player and played as a captain needs to play,” the Australian captain said.
“I think the second innings in Adelaide (165 not out, batting through the innings) showed the way you need to play as a leader, you need to lead from the front, not only with tactical stuff, but you’ve got to stand up as a player as well,” he added.
“Sometimes that’s all you can do and you hope the younger guys sit back and have a look at what you’re doing and the way you’re going about things and they try to emulate what you’ve done. So as far as that’s concerned he’s done a good job with the batting side of things.”
Noting that Gayle had to “deal with a very inexperienced bowling attack”, he said that they had done a reasonable job at different times.
Ponting said he had enjoyed the series.
“There’s been a bit of niggle in this game but there’s always going to be that when there’s so much on the line and it goes to show a lot about the passion that both teams have been playing with through the series,” he said.
Peter Roebuck, originally one of Gayle’s sternest critics, wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald that he “deserves credit for the awakening of his team.” “Plain and simple he saved the series,” was his opinion. “His hundreds in the second and third Tests were superbly constructed and sent a message to his players.”
“His tactics were nimble too. It’s been a long time since a West Indian captain had as many ideas,” he added.
Another initial sceptic, Jamie Pandaram, also changed his tune.
“Arriving as the man who didn’t care for Test cricket, Chris Gayle finished as the best thing this series had going for it – on the field and off,” he wrote in The Age.
“With emphatic batting, wit and grace under fire Gayle made us believe he truly does care about the future of Tests,” he stated.
Pandaram noted as well the support Gayle had from his players.
“Nearly every Windies player who fronted media during the tour at some point described Gayle’s leadership as inspirational,” he stated. “Few captains have scored centuries – let alone the fifth-fastest of all time – and then fallen to their knees and bowed to teammates in their moment of glory.”
Peter Lalor, writing in The Australian, said the West Indies captain “certainly earned the rewards and the plaudits”.
“He set the example on the field, encouraging his cricketers to attack the former Test champion and show it no deference beyond what an opponent normally demands,” was the way he described his influence.
The veteran writer, Mike Coward, praised Gayle and new manager Joel Garner “for the quality of their leadership and management”.
“It is early days but West Indies cricket may not be beyond therapy as had been widely feared after such a divisive and unproductive year,” Coward wrote. “There may yet be reason for optimism that the game can be restored to its rightful place in Caribbean society.” (TC).