Changes will be made and he will make them himself, Chris Gayle vowed after the West Indies’ second heavy, successive defeat to Australia in the five-match ODI series in Adelaide yesterday.
“Yeah, there will be a few changes,” the captain said when an ABC Radio interviewer asked whether he would sit down with the selectors to consider a shakeup for the third match in Sydney on Friday.
“I tell you what, I don’t actually need to discuss it with any selector,” he said. “I will make the changes myself at this point in time. I’ll take it on my own.”
The 11 has been the same in the two matches. Left-hand batsmen Wavell Hinds, a late replacement for all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, and Brendan Nash, all-rounder Darren Sammy and fast bowler Gavin Tonge are the four omitted.
Gayle’s intention hints at disagreement over who should and should not be in the starting elevens.
It is reminiscent of Brian Lara’s action in the final Test of the 2004 South African tour when he borrowed rival captain Graeme Smith’s pen at the toss to scratch Adam Sanford’s name from the listed eleven and replace it with Merv Dillon. Sir Viv Richards was then chairman of selectors and on tour as such. None of the present panel of Clyde Butts, Robert Haynes and Raphick Jumadeen, is in Australia where Gayle, coach David Williams and assistant coach Henderson Springer decide on the team from match to match.
Although not a member of the panel and not actively involved in choosing the touring squad, Gayle was “consulted”, Butt explained yesterday. Butts said he had been in regular contact with Gayle, Williams and manager Joel Garner in Australia but noted that he had not heard the captain’s interview, aired yesterday morning on the BBC’s Caribbean report.
The top order collapses of 12 for three in Melbourne and four for 16 in Adelaide, that led to all out totals of 143 off 34.2 over the allocated 50 overs and 170 off 39.4 overs, reveal the effect of the absence of injured key batsmen Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan and exciting young opener Adrian Barath.
Bravo, left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn and fast bowlers Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards are others missing through injury.
Gayle himself (7 and first ball 0), Runako Morton (3 and 4) and Travis Dowlin (1 and 2) have failed in both losses – by 113 runs in Melbourne on Sunday and eight wickets in Adelaide.
The early problems have been caused mainly by tall left-arm fast bowler Doug Bollinger who has accounted for Gayle each time and had two wickets in his opening spell in Melbourne and three in Adelaide.
“We definitely need to buckle down a bit more and see off that new ball,” Gayle said. “We can’t let them in as quickly as in both games.”
The middle and lower order managed minor recoveries but Dwayne Smith’s 43 in Adelaide is the West Indies’ highest score and Kieron Pollard (31 and 32) the only batsman to pass 30 in each match.
