Daniel
Brettig
June
5, 2012
Chris
Gayle's 15-month international exile is over after he was formally recalled to
the West Indies ODI squad for the forthcoming series against England, starting
in Southampton on June 16.
In
keeping with the fractious and drawn out nature of the dispute that kept Gayle
out of the team, his recall was confirmed after a meeting of more political
than selection nature in St Vincent. Gayle and his agent Michael Hall spoke
with an array of political and cricket figures including the island's 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.
The
meeting, devised to smooth over any "residual matters" between Gayle
and the WICB, was followed by the announcement of the squad for the
limited-overs segment of the England tour, with Gayle returning to the ranks
for the first time since the 2011 World Cup.
"Directors
of the West Indies Cricket Board recently met by teleconference and are pleased
that consistent with his previous commitment Mr Chris Gayle has made himself
available for selection to the West Indies team," a WICB statement had
said of the meeting. "The board believes that Mr Gayle's stated commitment
to West Indies cricket will be an asset to the team and looks forward to his
contributions in that regard."
Gayle's
recall was first mooted during West Indies' earlier home series against
Australia, when he met with WICB officials to repair a relationship that had
deteriorated around the emergence of Twenty20 and the rise of the Indian
Premier League. It then dissolved entirely when the former captain criticised
the coach Ottis Gibson and the WICB during a radio interview last year.
In
England the mood for Gayle's return has gathered strength, pushed along by the
words of Kevin Pietersen, who said it would be "brilliant for the
game" if he was recalled, while the former West Indies fast bowler and
widely respected commentator Michael Holding effectively challenged the WICB to
stop delaying Gayle's rehabilitation as an international player.
Lendl
Simmons is the other notable recall to the ODI team after he missed the home
matches against Australia. Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell also
return to the team for limited-overs matches after completing their IPL duties.
West Indies' ODI squad
Chris
Gayle, Johnson Charles, Lendl Simmons, Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Marlon
Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Darren Sammy (capt), Dwayne Smith,
Andre Russell, Tino Best, Fidel Edwards, Ravi Rampaul, Sunil Narine.
source:
http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-v-west-indies-2012/content/story/567294.html
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