The Hindu : Sport : Gayle is key player for Windies

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Saturday, Nov 04, 2006
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Gayle is key player for Windies

Chris Gayle seems to relish the task of leading his team's batting effort, writes Vivian Richards

I was at a meeting with the Prime Minister of Antigua when the news of our win reached us. I was not surprised since I had seen most of West Indies' run chase. The Prime Minister was obviously thrilled by the result, and his first thought was the good such a consistent performance would do for Caribbean cricket in general and the World Cup in particular.

In one of my earlier articles I had mentioned how we needed to put up strong performances in the run-up to the big tournament, so that the world knows that we are here not only to host the World Cup, but also to win it. Thursday's game was a convincing win for a semifinal game, and with it, Brian Lara's men have managed to defeat the top two teams of the world and the Indians at home in a span of 10 days.

Chris Gayle seemed galvanised with a determination and energy ever since he had that run-in with Michael Clarke. I had always felt that Gayle was a little aloof and detached from the game. I don't know if someone has read out the riot act to him, but now he seems to relish the task of leading his team's batting effort and takes a lot of pressure off the rest of the players.

He always had the talent, but now he has tightened his technique and strengthened his mind.

I spent a lot of time with Chris when we toured India in 2002. I knew he had a great eye and awesome power, but I felt he needed to get closer to the ball. He's not the shortest guy in the world and I felt he could use his height to play forward as well as back. Today he looks pretty complete as a batsman, and is a major force in the team. And I have not even started to speak about the crucial contribution he makes with his off-spin.

Though I have spoken about just Gayle, the factor that has brought the West Indies this far has been teamwork.

Jerome Taylor led a very efficient bowling performance, and the contribution of Shivnarine Chanderpaul was also significant.

Too cautious

As far as the South African team was concerned, I think they played a little too cautiously. Instead of judging the pitch by what they saw, they made the mistake of assuming that the match would go along the lines of the games that have been played so far in this competition. Graeme Smith's plan was based on earlier games and that is where he erred. Herschelle Gibbs played a good knock, but he was not his usual run-a-ball self. He looked tentative at the start of his innings and even towards the end he was too worried about preserving wickets.

Looking ahead, the West Indies must be positive and not get overawed by Australia's World champion tag. On current form they have played as well as Australia, and there is no reason for them to feel like a lesser side. The West Indies have played and beaten the best teams in the competition, and they must now put mind over matter on Sunday. They will be happy to know that they have beaten the Australians more than any other side since 2003. What's more, the Australians have never won this tournament and would be under some pressure to correct that statistic.

As the defending champions, the West Indies must play with pride and confidence, because, if they continue to play as a unit, there is no reason why they can't defend their title against Australia.

(Gameplan)

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