BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Beleaguered opener Chris Gayle has been recalled to the West Indies squad for the one-day tour of England, ending a protracted stand-off with the West Indies Cricket Board that has lasted for over a year.
This follows a high-level meeting in St Vincent on Sunday involving the talismanic left-hander, two regional Prime Ministers and officials from the West Indies Cricket Board.
The 32-year-old Gayle and his representative Michael Hall, sat down with Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer, WICB president Julian Hunte, WICB director Elson Crick and the WICB’s legal officer Alanna Medford, in what CMC Sports understands was a “successful meeting”.
Gayle has not played for the regional side in over a year because of a protracted squabble with the WICB but made himself available for selection earlier last month after the impasse was resolved during an April meeting involving Spencer and Gonsalves.
Though Gayle had been cleared for selection, the meeting was called by the WICB in order to thrash out “residual issues”.
A source with knowledge of the meeting said discussions were held so as to ensure that both Gayle and the WICB understood their roles going forward and knew what was expected of them.
Gayle will now join a 15-man squad which will be led by regular captain Darren Sammy and which sees a recall for Trinidadian opener Lendl Simmons following injury and Dwayne Smith for the first time in over two years.
Simmons has been one of the Windies’ most successful openers in recent months but was sidelined after breaking his finger in February during the Regional first class championship and being forced to undergo surgery.
In his last seven innings, he has accumulated a century and two half-centuries.
Smith, meanwhile, has not played one-day cricket in over a year but has impressed selectors with his form in the T20 format where he has reinvented himself as an opener.
The aggressive right-hander struck two half-centuries against the touring Australians recently and also starred for Mumbai Indians in the just concluded Indian Premier League.
He is one of several all-rounders named in the squad with Dwayne Bravo appointed vice-captain of the side.
West Indies will face England in three one-dayers from June 16-24.
SQUAD – Darren Sammy (captain), Dwayne Bravo (vice-captain), Marlon Samuels, Chris Gayle, Denesh Ramdin, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Johnson Charles, Tino Best, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith, Andre Russell, Darren Bravo, Fidel Edwards, Ravi Rampaul.
