Chappell wants players to learn from Sri Lankan experience

Trevor Chappell is no stranger to Sri Lanka after two six-month stints asthe fielding coach and he hopes that his inexperienced players will not justlearn from the cricket that commences on Thursday, but also from Sri Lanka’sexperience as an emerging cricket nation.Sri Lanka were given Test status in 1981, but only won their first Test whenDuleep Mendis’s side defeated India in 1985/6. They had to wait even longerfor their first overseas victory, which did not come until 1994/5 againstNew Zealand.”The players can learn from the example of Sri Lanka and I would like some of the recently retired cricketers here, like Arjuna Ranatunga and Roy Dias, to talk to the players about their early day experiences,” said Chappell”Aravinda de Silva was in Dhaka just before we left for Zimbabwe and hechatted to the players, telling them that they may have problems to startwith but must just preserver because, although this generation may not breakthrough, the combined knowledge gets passed on.”At the moment there is no Bangladesh Test player for them to turn to foradvice, so talking some of the old Sri Lankan players may help to short cutthe learning curve or, at least, give them more background, which helps themrealise that they are not the first ones to have gone through this toughprocess.”Chappell remains optimistic, however, that despite lacking a first classcricket structure and proper development programme until recently Bangladeshcan break through quickly into the big time.”The talent is there,” he says.”There are 140 million people who are fanatical about their cricket, so itsmatter of putting the right development programmes in place to identify theplayers and then coach them in the correct manner.”I am very confident that sometime along the line, in 5 or 10 years,Bangladesh will be a pretty strong Test side.”I am looking for the guys to learn how to play at this level.”They haven’t played a lot of first class cricket in Bangladesh, let aloneTest cricket, so it’s a big jump to come and play countries like Pakistanand Sri Lanka in Test matches.”We played Zimbabwe earlier in the year and learnt a bit from playing them,but we weren’t able to put it into practice against Pakistan.”There was no reason for it, as the wicket was ideal and batting isgenerally recognised as one of our strengths.”We need to learn how to play session cricket and then how to play for fivedays, where we play consistently well throughout and don’t have bad hourswhen we get thoroughly beaten.”We regularly lose wickets just before the end of the session or drinks, butwe need the guys to bat throughout a session, even if they don’t score manyruns.”With the bowling we have just tried to keep to a simple plan of bowlingline and length.”There is no point in anything too fancy at the moment. We can look a morecomplex plans of attack in the future.”

Gloucestershire left with sense of inferiority

Northants ended the second day at Cheltenham looking for a convincing win over Gloucestershire to lift them clear of the bottom rung of the second division.A decisive breakthrough in the evening session saw them reduce the home side of 77-4 still 466 behind on a College Ground wicket showing signs of wear.Having built their first innings score of 543 around the meaty blows of their England-qualified Australian Jeff Cook as he made 137 in four and a half hours, Northants then found the right mix of pace and spin to leave Gloucestershire with a sense of inferiority.This was only too evident when the makeshift opening pair of Dominic Hewson and Rob Cunliffe were both back in the pavilion by the end of the seventh over, Hewson not offering a shot to a ball which went straight through into his stumps and Cunliffe edging to Matt Haynes in the slips.Gloucestershire, for all their earnest approach, had never found the swing Darren Cousins uncovered to claim those two wickets but then the pitch had been deadened by several days’ rain and then scuffed as the bowlers ran through.With the openers gone with only 18 scored Northants’ skipper Haynes quickly brought Tony Penberthy on at the College Lawn end and his medium pace gave him two quick wickets.Home captain Mark Alleyne has been largely out of form with the bat since leading the England A tour in the winter and like Hewson he made no attempt to play the ball which went through to strike his back pad, departing for six to his 12th ball.Then Matt Windows clipped a ball off his pads to Jason Brown and at 40-4 there was a possibility a demoralised side might not last the 35 overs of the evening session.They did by promoting the combative Jack Russell to encourage that first-season batsman Chris Taylor. The wicket-keeper drew the flak leaving Taylor to strike out a determined 27 with four boundaries although the partnership was lucky to survive when Adrian Rollins at short leg juggled with a prod by Russell but failed to hold on to it at the second attempt.Where Gloucestershire struggled Northants had been composed building a variety of solid innings around Cook who waited patiently for the right ball.Ninety two of his runs came in boundaries before he was undone by a ball from his fellow-Australian Ian Harvey which cut in to find his middle stump.Cook in the 209 balls he faced saw the score rise from 131-1 when he went in to 416-5 when he left with Northants by then on course for a maximum five batting points.They sailed past their previous highest total in matches between these counties – 516 at Bristol back in 1913 – as their last five batsmen put on 127 with David Ripley unbeaten on 48.The best of the home bowling came from the uncapped Mike Cawdron who kept up a whippy pace and line through several spells to finish with three for 70 off 28 overs.

Recommendations of the Sri Lankan probe committee

The recommendations made by the probe committee, which looked into the alleged mismanagement of funds at the BCCSL.The probe committee appointed by the minister of sports Lakshman Kireiella, handed over it’s initial report last Friday. The committee headed by Hemantha Warnakulasuriya and comprised of Priyantha Algama, Maxi Wijetilake, M. Sivaratnam, and Sunil Abeyratne started the investigations on the 1st of this month and ended the findings on the 15th.In a media release published yesterday the committee had recommended six recommendations in it’s report.

Recommendations.

  • 1. Every single member of the dissolved Executive Committee be made responsible for the gigantic sums of money spent in constructing the stadium from the funds of the BCCSL, for having spent such a colossal sum without any right, title or interest in the land.
  • 2. Therefore, we recommend that the land be acquired by the Government after paying compensation which will be deposited with the Public Trustee.
  • 3. The constitution of the BCCSL be amended so as to prevent any one power group, being elected to power, with unfettered power.
  • 4. The Minister of Sports to have power, if deemed necessary to appoint any person to look into the property and legality of the decisions of the Executive Committee and a representative of the Treasury to prevent gross abuse of financial irregularities and mismanagement.
  • 5. As provided by the Sports Law, the accounts to be audited by the Auditor General.
  • 6. Sports Law to be amended to include the property, and the funds of the BCCSL and all sports bodies be deemed to be public property.

Derbyshire fail to reach meagre Hampshire total

Hampshire recorded their fifth win in seven National League matches with a 16-run victory over Derbyshire in a low-scoring match at the Rose Bowl.Chasing Hampshire’s modest 155 all out, Derbyshire lost in the last over with theirlast five wickets falling for 11 runs in a belated attempt to accelerate.At one stage with Rob Bailey and Mathew Dowman in a full-cry stand of 65 for thefifth wicket, Derbyshire needed only another 58 and with 12 overs inhand.But from the moment Dowman was out for 35, mistiming a drive againstAlan Mullally, Derbyshire fell away in spectacular style.Dominic Cork and James Pyemont kept Bailey company for a time and at 128 for 5, there was still plenty of time for the Scorpions.But the return of Mullally to theHampshire attack and some determined fielding led to a loss of nerve whicheven affected the previously obdurate Bailey who had faced 97 balls in making 40. Bailey went down the wicket to Shaun Udal and was caught in the deep looking for what would have been only his third boundary.Derbyshire’s last three wickets fell in four balls to leave them to contemplate their sixth defeat of the season. Mullally took three for 19 and Chris Tremlett three for 15 to confirm his growing value to Robin Smith’s side.Smith might have regretted choosing to bat first when Jason Laney was out to thefirst ball of the match and Neil Johnson followed soon afterwards both toDominic Cork.Cork also ended Hampshire’s best stand of the innings, a paltry 40 for the fifth wicket between Will Kendall and Lawrence Prittipaul.Cork celebrated his Test squad selection with three for 38 while Paul Aldred neverallowed Hampshire to gain the upper hand in taking three for 17 from his ninetight overs.

Quaid-i-Azam Trophy probables announced

The Islamabad Cricket Association (ICA) on Tuesday finaliseda list of 25 players to be submitted with the PakistanCricket Board for the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy.Following two days of trials at the Fatima Jinnah Park, thechairman of ICA, Syed Mansur Ahmed announced the followingplayers:Bilal Asad, Irfan Bhatti, Azhar Mahmood, Ali Naqvi, NadeemHussain, Saeed Anwar Jnr, Saeed Ajmal, Stephen John, RaoIftikhar, Asif Ali Saeed, Ashar Zaidi, Tauseef Satti, NaseerAhmed, Ali Raza, Rauf Akbar, Anwarul Haq, Atif AshrafQureshi, Abdul Qayum, Shahid Iqbal, Ishtiaq Rabbani, WaseemAkhtar, Hashim Khan, M. Zahid, Sajid Mahmood, Yasir Javed.The chairman also named Qaiser Hussain, Mustafa Bashir andFazeel Ahmed as the reserves.The boys have been directed to report to ICA secretary IrfanManzur on Wednesday alongwith their photographs and theiridentity cards and a proof of their residence. Meanwhile, inaccordance with the new policy of the PCB that allows theassociations to include any under-19 player in the playingXI for the Quaid Trophy, the ICA named the followingyoungsters:Raheel Majeed, Farrukh Hayat, Rashid AMin Butt, MuhammadAltaf, Shakir Mahmood, Talat Hussain, Saifur rehman,Muhammad Shahzad, Jawad Hassan, Ameer Khan, Raja Kashif.The Rawalpindi Cricket Association (RCA) meanwhileshortlisted 52 players. Their team for the Quaid Trophy willbe announced after a series of matches.The probables: Muhammad Naveed, Muhammad Waseem,Nasir Ahmed, Asif Mahmood, Shahid Javed, Arif Butt, PervezAziz, Mujahid Hameed, Tassawar Hussain, Babar Naeem, HashamIqbal, Nauman Aman, Shah Faisal, Waseem Ahmed, MaqsoodAslam, Muhammad Saleem, Mazhar Abbas, Raja Jahanzeb, ZahidKhan, Ehsan Khan, Makhdoom Shah, Ziaul Haq, M. Sultan,Sohail Nasir, M. Yaqoob.Fast bowlers: Shoaib Akhtar, Naeem Akhtar, YasirArafat, Azhar Bhatti, Muhammad Fayyaz, Shahid Mahmood,Zaheer Ahmed, Ziaul Haq, Zaheeruddin Babar, Sahd Altaf,Junaid Zia, Najaf Shah, Shakeel Nawaz, Tahawar, M. Afzal,Yasir Ashfaq.Spinners: Shakeel Ahmed, Jawad Hameed, Sheraz Khalid,Iftikhar Mahmood, Ayaz Akbar, Riasat Mahmood, Munir Ansari.Wicketkeepers: Nadeem Abbasi, Muhammad Zubair,Mehboob Rasheed, SM Suleman.

Venter bags a ton as Strikers struggle

Kosie Venter scored an undefeated 112, his fourth first-class century, for Free State before the Highveld Strikers reached the close of the third day of their SuperSport Series match at Goodyear Park on Sunday on 23 without loss in their second innings. The Strikers are still 134 in arrears.Venter was at the wicket for more than five-and-a-half hours during which he faced 179 balls and hit nine fours and a six.Free State declared their second innings, scored in reply to the visitors’ 368, at 525 for seven.The visitors faced 8.3 of the 16 overs they were scheduled to before bad light ended play.The home side resumed on 177 for two, and Louis Wilkinson and Wiaan Smit took their third-wicket partnership to 184 before Wilkinson, on 99 and itching to reach what would have been his eighth century, drove directly at Walter Masimula at mid-on and set off on an ill-fated run.Masimula’s aim at the bowler’s end stumps was true and Wilkinson was run out. Adam Bacher dropped Smit at point off the next ball, but it did not prove a costly error as he was caught behind off Ottis Gibson nine runs later for 88.Venter and Morne van Wyk then embarked on a fifth-wicket stand that was to stretch to 86 runs before Van Wyk was trapped in front by Masimula for 49.Sturdy batting by Gerard Brophy, Herman Bakkes and Rasjeed Lewis, who all advanced well into double figures, only added to the visitors’ frustration.To Strikers captain Clive Eksteen went the cold comfort of being the only bowler in his side to claim more than one wicket, with his return of two for 123 off 44 overs.

Fit and hungry Vijay ready for Mumbai battle

Just when Tamil Nadu’s tailenders were getting a feel of the bat towards the end of their training session at the the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai’s business hub, M Vijay padded up to take guard for the second time in an hour.Vijay, seeking to return to match fitness after missing two of India’s three Tests in Sri Lanka due to a hamstring injury, defended balls from pacers for a while. Vijay’s defence, which has been the hallmark of his game during his resurgence as a Test opener over the last two years, was tight as ever.Tamil Nadu may be taking on Mumbai in one of the more high-profile clashes of the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy season, but more than the rivalry between the sides, the spotlight over the next four days will be on Vijay, with the Test series against South Africa starting in three weeks.Vijay may have emerged as the leaver in Tests over the last couple of years, but he started his prolonged training stint in an unusual manner. He first asked spinners and seamers to bowl onto his pads for a good 20 minutes. Then, the line changed to outside off stump. But Vijay hardly had any difficulties in judging it. He returned towards the end of the session to finish off with a string of defensive strokes.It was Vijay’s first serious net session since scoring 82 in Kumar Sangakkara’s farewell Test. His stint at the crease on Tuesday, hours after joining his team-mates in Mumbai, was all about expressing himself freely.”I am pretty excited to play this game because it has been a long gap,” Vijay said. “After the Sri Lanka tour, I did not get any game at all. I am really working hard on my fitness. I am looking forward for a positive result if I play all four days of this match and get some confidence going.”It will be music to the ears of his Tamil Nadu team-mates, as well as the national selectors if Vijay gets into his groove straightaway. It will not be that way for the hosts, though.After earning a bonus point against Punjab at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai will be striving for consistency. They will be banking on the new-ball duo of Dhawal Kulkarni and Shardul Thakur to pull the brakes on Vijay early on.Six years ago, Vijay scored a breezy 154 against the same opponents. If he can produce a knock of similar quality over the next four days, it would be the most opportune manner for him to prove his fitness.

India seize the day after Mathews century

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsLahiru Thirimanne and Angelo Mathews added 127 for the fourth wicket•AFP

Angelo Mathews scored his sixth Test century and dominated a wicketless first session but Sri Lanka lost their way thereafter, losing their last seven wickets for 65 runs as India ran to a dominant position at the end of day three. Mathews and Lahiru Thirimanne resisted the steady drip of pressure exerted by India’s bowlers, adding 127 for the fourth wicket, but the rest of Sri Lanka’s batting couldn’t cope with it. Having secured a first-innings lead of 87, India extended it to 157 for the loss of just one wicket.

Thirimanne fined for dissent

Sri Lanka batsman Lahiru Thirimanne has been fined 30% of his match fee after he was found to have breached Article 2.1.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during an International Match”.
The incident in question occurred in the 85th over of Sri Lanka’s innings, when Thirimanne stood his ground after being adjudged caught behind, and eventually left the field shaking his head.
The charge was laid by on-field umpires Bruce Oxenford and Rod Tucker, and third umpire Ruchira Palliyaguruge.
Thirimanne admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Andy Pycroft of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, meaning there was no need for a formal hearing.

India lost KL Rahul in the first over of their second innings, bowled off the inside edge by a Dhammika Prasad inducker, before Vijay and Rahane saw them through to stumps. They did this without too many alarms, though Rangana Herath troubled both batsmen with his straighter one, having two strong lbw appeals turned down. Rod Tucker made the right decision each time, with one striking the inside edge and two seeming to be missing leg.Just as they had done on day two, India’s bowlers probed away with discipline on a pitch offering them just enough to keep asking questions, but Mathews and Thirimanne were more than equal to the task. In all, it was riveting Test cricket, with Mathews using his nous and Thirimanne showing impressive patience to strengthen Sri Lanka’s position and leave them the happier of the two sides at lunch.India seemed to be letting the initiative slide even further when, in the second over after lunch, Ishant Sharma went around the wicket to try and bombard Mathews with bouncers. He had long leg and deep square leg in place, but the deliveries he sent down were so lacking in venom that Mathews still managed to pull and glance him for three successive fours. Wisely, India shelved the short-ball tactic.The round-the-wicket angle, however, brought Ishant reward in his next over, though it was Thirimanne who succumbed, nicking behind while trying to drive one that straightened from a fullish length. He looked displeased with the umpire’s decision, but replays were inconclusive.A short rain interruption followed, after which Ishant struck again to remove Dinesh Chandimal, who pressed forward and pushed away from his body at one that seamed away. During his spell, Ishant’s use of the bouncer became less predictable and harder to play, and he struck Chandimal’s helmet and Jehan Mubarak’s glove while they ducked with their eyes off the ball.Mathews moved to his hundred – his sixth in Tests – with the most audacious shot of his innings, reverse-sweeping R Ashwin against the turn, off a ball that straightened from middle stump, and finding the gap to the left of point. But he was gone three balls later, poking at a good-length ball outside off – a shot he may not have played had he not been batting on three figures – to give Stuart Binny his first Test wicket. The frenetic action continued in the next over, when Mishra bowled a legbreak laden with overspin and bounce to force Dhammika Prasad to pop a simple catch to slip.Ishant Sharma exults after taking the wicket of Lahiru Thirimanne•AFP

Five overs into the post-tea session, Sri Lanka were all out. Mishra picked up two of the last three wickets, and bowled the ball of the day to ensnare Mubarak. The left-hander pressed forward to defend, not realising that late drift away from him had subtly changed the line of the ball; it pitched on off stump, rather than off and middle, and straightened past his outside edge to clip off stump. It had taken India only 22.1 overs to pick up the last seven wickets. Sri Lanka’s situation had been utterly transformed from the calmness of the first session.There was a sense of opportunism about the way Mathews batted, using the angles to create run-scoring opportunities, particularly through the leg side. In the sixth over of the morning, Mathews flicked Umesh Yadav square of midwicket, from an off-stump line, to pick up a boundary. The last ball of the over wasn’t quite as full, and he delayed the moment when he closed the bat face to work it wide of mid-on for a single. First ball of the next over, he repeated the same shot against Ishant Sharma. Three fairly good balls, six runs scored.But above all, the innings showcased Mathews’ ability to make his game work for him. His technique isn’t flawless – his front-foot stride isn’t the longest, and his bottom hand often dominates – but while the odd ball leaves him looking uncomfortable, he finds ways to minimise any damage it may cause.Late on day two, Umesh had opened him up three times with his outswinger. But he made sure he didn’t edge any of them, refusing to follow the ball with his hands. It happened again when Umesh was re-introduced to the attack ten minutes before lunch on day three. Again, Mathews played with bat close to body, happy for the ball to beat his edge by a fair distance. In between, Amit Mishra frequently puzzled him with his flight and dip, but he adjusted and played the second line, with soft hands.Thirimanne, usually easy on the eye but prone to errors, followed Mathews’ example beautifully. There was an early period of discomfort against Ishant, who angled it across the left-hander from a tight, off-stump line and found bounce and occasional seam movement, but he grew increasingly solid as the day progressed.Thirimanne was happy enough to defend ball after ball, and waited for the delivery he could cut: that shot brought him all three of his fours in a morning session that saw him advance his score by 29 runs, off 74 balls. In the process, he showed a glimpse of what he could offer Sri Lanka if he marries grit to his natural ability on a more frequent basis.

Worcestershire clinch Abbott deal

Worcestershire have signed Kyle Abbott, the South African pace bowler, as their overseas player for the second half of the 2016 campaign – subject to him obtaining a visa and a No Objection Certificate from Cricket South Africa.Abbott, a regular member of South Africa’s ODI and T20I squads, including the series last month against India, is scheduled to be available for Worcestershire from early July until the end of the season. South Africa have two Tests against New Zealand in that period, but he does not anticipate being called into the squad.Promotion will be the priority for Worcestershire, whose reputation as county cricket’s Yo-Yo club remained intact when they were relegated from Division One last year.Steve Rhodes, Worcestershire’s director of cricket, had indicated he wanted to sign another quality pace bowler to aid the trio of Joe Leach, Jack Shantry and Charlie Morris who sterlingly bore the brunt of the workload in 2015. They bowlewd more than 1400 Championship overs between them and were among the hardest-worked pace bowlers in the country.”It is very exciting to welcome Kyle on board for the last three months of next season,” Rhodes said. “He will be available after the Tri-Series in the Caribbean with Australia and the West Indies in June. To have him for an extended period of time, July, August, September, I think he will be a real asset”He will pass on, I’m sure, some excellent experience to our younger bowlers and we know he is the type of person that will fit into our dressing room as well. We look forward to him doing well. He is not just a Test match bowler, he is a one-day bowler and he has also got good T20 skills. He will potentially be playing in all three formats.”Abbott has to date played three Tests for South Africa and on his debut in 2013 returned the outstanding figures of 7 for 29 against Pakistan at Centurion when his victims included current captain Misbah-ul-Haq and the former Worcestershire spinner Saeed Ajmal.He has previous experience of county cricket with Hampshire in 2014, helping them to promotion from Division Two of the Championship with 36 wickets in nine matches at 20.33 runs apiece.He also made 12 appearances that season for Hampshire in the NatWest T20 Blast – a competition he played in last summer for a six-match spell with Middlesex.As a Division Two side, Worcerstershire will regard him as quite a coup. His 232 first-class wickets have come at 21.30 apiece and he was also signed up by Chennai Super Kings in 2015 to play in the Indian Premier League.

'Haven't retired from any format' – Gayle

Chris Gayle is not retiring from any form of the game, but a recurring back injury will keep him out of West Indies’ upcoming home Test series against England.”Definitely want to play the T20 World Cup next year for West Indies, there’s no doubt about that,” Gayle told ESPNcricinfo. “I’ve got a few concerns and a few injury [cases] to try and solve. I’ll give myself some time and hopefully look back at it and see how well I can actually progress for West Indies cricket at this point in time.”I’m actually out of the Test series, the back won’t hold up for that format at this point in time. But I haven’t retired from any format as yet. As I go on I will keep informing WICB about my progress in the future with West Indies cricket.”West Indies were knocked out of the World Cup on Saturday after losing their quarter-final against New Zealand by 143 runs. Gayle made a 33-ball 61 in an attempt to keep West Indies in touch with the asking rate in a chase of 394. Gayle said he suffered a groin strain during the game, but his back didn’t trouble him too much.”[The back] actually held up well, to be honest with you, in the outfield for 50 overs and then opening the batting,” he said. “It wasn’t too bad, slight scare again with a niggle in the groin, so all that was happening, and you have to take the conditions into consideration, it was a bit cold and you’re feeling some pain.”West Indies lost to Ireland in their opening match of the World Cup, and went through an up-and-down ride that eventually carried them into the quarter-finals. Gayle felt West Indies had played good cricket and were a ‘good all-round team’, even though they missed Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard – whose omissions he had spoken out against before the tournament.”I thought we played some great cricket,” Gayle said. “Yes we missed [Bravo and Pollard], but I thought we did well. We had a good all-round team, and the guys played some crucial innings for us.”It was a situation where you look at it, we reached a quarterfinal, anything could have happened, you just need two good games. You chase 390 runs, psychologically it will affect your batters, but if we actually had a better plan or structure chasing these sort of targets, it could have helped us in some sort of way.”[We were bowled out for] 250 with 19 overs to go, that goes to tell how dangerous we can be, but just to get the mindset right and get a hold of everything and the players to actually believe we can make these things happen.”The WICB appointed Jason Holder, the 23-year-old allrounder, as West Indies’ ODI captain months before the World Cup. Asked how he rated Holder’s captaincy, Gayle said he had room to improve but wished him well, and hoped he would hold the team together in the future.”There’s always room for improvement,” Gayle said. “There’s no doubt about it. Nothing wrong with a young captain, but goes to show [how] inexperience can play a big part in this sort of tournament. Can Jason actually grow from this, get more structure behind him and more support in this area? Then hopefully he can build on this and use this as a learning experience.”It’s never going to be easy, coming here and captaining in a World Cup for the first time, it’s always going to be a mind factor and lot of pressure is going to be there on a youngster like that, but in the future, I wish him well, hopefully he can use this as a learning experience, and can get better. Just keep your players together and just hold them and stick with them.”Gayle looked forward to working with Phil Simmons, who will take over as West Indies’ coach after the World Cup. Simmons, the former West Indies allrounder, has just ended an eight-year stint with the Ireland team.”I know Phil from a personal point of view, I know him well,” Gayle said. “He’s a good man, he has done well with Ireland and he’s one of us as well, so there’s no doubt about it. We know how we can actually become a stronger unit.”I didn’t know he was appointed, so that’s news to me at this point in time, so I wish him all the best and hopefully he’ll have a successful coaching career with West Indies and can uplift West Indies cricket and take us further in international cricket and help the Regional [Tournament] as well.”In West Indies’ group match against Zimbabwe, Gayle made 215, the first double-century in World Cup cricket. In Saturday’s quarterfinal, Martin Guptill bettered his effort and smashed an unbeaten 237. Gayle was one of the first West Indies players to congratulate Guptill when he went past 200.”Yeah, fantastic,” Gayle said. “[Guptill] batted well, we know his capability. It was a good wicket out there, it was a belter out there, small ground, small boundary, but we can’t take anything away from the fact that he batted superbly. He set up his innings fantastically. Congrats to him on getting the double century, 237 I think, I wish him all the best furthermore in his career, and he’s a wonderful player as well.”

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