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| CHRIS GAYLE IN FULL FLIGHT! |
When
things got real bad with the former West Indies CEO of WICB, he landed himself
a brand new job with the Government of St. Lucia as High Commissioner to the
UK. Should Chris Gayle follow suit? Should PM Portia Simpson do as Kenny
Anthony did and save Gayle and WINDIES cricket from further embarrassment by embracing
cricket’s most savage “Hitman” in a new plenipotentiary ambassadorial role for
Jamaica and save him from disgrace?
Already,
Gayle is a proud symbolic fixture towering above the Jamaican landscape; his
massive "aerial" poster is one of the imposing phenomena that greets you upon
arrival at the Norman Manley Airport in Jamaica. Secondly, Gayle is known
worldwide – and unlike the former CEO who is a new kid on the international
block – may be able to attract greater attention and respect from his clientele.
Shouldn’t those make him a potentially excellent choice for an ambassador
plenipotentiary – EH, that is, as long as he does not carry his “big bat” with
him?
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| JACK WARNER |
But
perhaps not! Not all sportsmen and sports administrators maybe effective in the
political field. While The Indians (and even the Australians) believe that Tendulkar
may be a role model in that respect, the Trinis believe that Jack Warner is a
severe embarrassment.
The
battle between Gayle and Hilaire which inflicted limitless collateral damage on
WI cricket may just provide us with a rough insight into the ambassadorial
propensities of two honorable WINDIES virtuosos. When faced with challenges, they
fought like ancient gladiators, aiming for the jugular of each other regardless
of the magnitude of collateral damage! In the case of the Gayle-Hilaire battle,
one has apparently “self-destruct”; and it looks like the other is facing
imminent self-destruction in the world of cricket. They didn’t use civilized
diplomacy but they fought like savages with Gayle using the brute force of his
big bat and Hilaire converting much of his brain to brawn to match him.
During
after the battle, the outcomes were an unenviable legacy of scars, dissensus
and debt which perhaps took the heaviest toll ever on our cricket. None of them
were obviously mindful of those repercussions!
While
the dissensus has apparently abated with cost-prohibitive implications for
WICB, the pain and agony linger.
In
a total about-turn, Gayle has moved – and one hopes it is only temporary - from
the "glitteriest" ivory tower of success to the doldrums of dismal failure!
Lately, he has been failing in all forms and at all levels of the game – even
in his T20 forte. He failed dismally in the test and ODI matches against the weaker
teams like New Zealand and Bangladesh and continued to fail in the Australia
Big Bash, except in his final match where he scored 65.
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| VIV RICHARDS |
In
previous articles, I argued for Gayle’s return to the fold of West Indies cricket
when he was in the wilderness. But now after a “second” good look, I am of the
opinion that it may now be time for him to take a page from Viv Richards and
Clive Lloyd by taking an early bow from international cricket before “irreversible
decrement” sets in. The “Don” Prime Minister can facilitate the exit of the
“great man” by doing what Kenny did for Hilaire: reward him with an honorable
position – ambassadorial or otherwise!
West
Indies cricket must move on!
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