The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Gayle doubtful for first Test

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Wednesday, Dec 26, 2007
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Gayle doubtful for first Test

South Africa has won its last four Test series
It could finish the year in second spot

PORT ELIZABETH: Chris Gayle faces an anxious wait to discover whether he will be fit to captain West Indies in the first Test against South Africa starting here on Wednesday.

Gayle, who has missed six matches since he injured a hamstring in the second ODI against Zimbabwe in Harare, said a decision on his fitness had been deferred until the morning of the match.

“I feel pretty good but there’s still uncertainty and I’ll have to assess it on match day,” Gayle said.

The opening batsman will captain West Indies for the first time in a Test if he is declared fit.

“I can’t remember sitting out of cricket for so long before, and you’ve just got to accept it and move on,” Gayle said. “But, it’s very frustrating because you want to be out there with the guys.”

West Indies goes into the match on the back of a 10-wicket loss to South Africa ‘A’ in East London.

“That was disappointing but we have to look past it and get into the right frame of mind for this very important game,” Gayle said.

That result has led to predictions of a series win for South Africa, which has won its last four Test series.

Dyson’s take

West Indies coach John Dyson did not accept that view. “I don’t think it matters what people say, the only thing that matters is the next ball,” Dyson said.

“South Africa has been playing some terrific cricket, but that’s past. Maybe, when that next ball is bowled its form won’t be as good. Maybe, it’ll bowl a few more loose balls, maybe it’ll nick a few.”

South Africa could end 2007 in second place in the ICC rankings after starting the year in the fifth spot.

“We’ve won our last four Test series and that’s more encouraging than the ranking,” Graeme Smith said. “But, going up to No. 2 shows that we have been playing good cricket.”

The teams (from): South Africa: Graeme Smith (capt.), Herschelle Gibbs, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, A.B. de Villiers, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock, Ashwell Prince, Andre Nel, Paul Harris, Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini.

West Indies: Chris Gayle (capt.), Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Pedro Collins, Fidel Edwards, Daren Ganga, Rawl Lewis, Runako Morton, Brenton Parchment, Daren Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Devon Smith and Jerome Taylor.

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