Chris Gayle’s failure to perform when it matters most will prevent him from being remembered as one of the game’s greats, says All Out Cricket columnist Rohan Kallicharan.
Great players forge their reputations on the greatest stage. It’s one of the oldest but truest clichés in sport. Clive Lloyd, Sir Vivian Richards, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Aravinda de Silva; just a few who have graced the global game, and cemented their positions in cricketing folklore with matchwinning centuries in World Cup finals.
Each of those players performed when it mattered most and therefore solidified their standing in the game. The talismanic Englishman Andrew Flintoff personifies this better than many. Five Test centuries and an average of 31.77 and 226 Test Wickets at 32.78 is by no means a special record at the highest level but Freddie was a larger than life character who in 2005 lit up the greatest stage in English cricket – an Ashes series.
Had he never played again, his place in history was secured. The fact that he went on to play a key role in reclaiming the urn in 2009 ensured his place in the pantheon of the English greats, and his questionable leadership during the 2006/07 Ashes and his pedalo antics in the Caribbean were merely a distant memory. Some may argue that he was forgiven for those blips because people saw him as one of their own, a bit of a mischievous larrikin, Freddie the lad. But I suspect without his Ashes heroics, the English cricketing public wouldn’t have been quite so quick to forgive and forget.
As with Flintoff, Chris Gayle appears carefree in his approach to the game but his Test match record is highly respectable with over 6,000 runs at an average of 41.65. And of course, his scintillating performances in ODI and T20 cricket have gained him a reputation as a crowd-pleaser who justifies an entrance fee alone.
However, patience is wearing thin with him amongst the Caribbean cricketing fraternity. Over the last few years Gayle has consistently been at odds with the West Indian authorities, perhaps dating back to his comment in 2007 that he would not be overly disappointed if Test cricket died out. As the captain of a Test side who flew in to the country a mere 48 hours before the start of a series due to ‘financial commitments’ in the IPL, this was unsurprisingly not received well.
His most recent feud with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is nothing new in Caribbean cricket. The truth is that they have been mistreating players for years, and there are only too many players – past and present – who would testify to this. However, the response to Gayle’s stance is in stark contrast to that towards Shiv Chanderpaul, who was equally critical of the authorities but unwavering in his desire to represent West Indies.
Moreover, Chanderpaul has time and time again performed for West Indies in times of crisis and in pressure situations, proving his commitment and his ability to rise to the big occasion. Gayle, for all his spectacular performances, has consistently failed to deliver when it has mattered most:
Champions Trophy final 2004 – 23
Champions Trophy final 2006 – 37
World Cup quarter-final 2011 – 8
IPL final 2011 – 0
Champions League T20 final 2011 – 5
In each of these tournaments Gayle played a starring role but when the opportunity to establish himself as a ‘great’ rather than a ‘crowd-pleaser’ presented itself, he misread the script. This is why West Indian supporters – despite universally accepting that West Indies would be better with his presence – are finding it much more difficult to support him than they have other players in conflict with the WICB.
His career has had many highlights but still represents unfulfilled potential on the biggest stage and he has continued to let down West Indian supporters when they’ve needed him most. They say that champions are born and not made and Chris Gayle risks leaving behind a legacy as a would-be champion who never did justice to his vast talent.
Gayle Continues To Blow Talent
Chris Gayle’s failure to perform when it matters most will prevent him from being remembered as one of the game’s greats, says All Out Cricket columnist Rohan Kallicharan.
Great players forge their reputations on the greatest stage. It’s one of the oldest but truest clichés in sport. Clive Lloyd, Sir Vivian Richards, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Aravinda de Silva; just a few who have graced the global game, and cemented their positions in cricketing folklore with matchwinning centuries in World Cup finals.
Each of those players performed when it mattered most and therefore solidified their standing in the game. The talismanic Englishman Andrew Flintoff personifies this better than many. Five Test centuries and an average of 31.77 and 226 Test Wickets at 32.78 is by no means a special record at the highest level but Freddie was a larger than life character who in 2005 lit up the greatest stage in English cricket – an Ashes series.
Had he never played again, his place in history was secured. The fact that he went on to play a key role in reclaiming the urn in 2009 ensured his place in the pantheon of the English greats, and his questionable leadership during the 2006/07 Ashes and his pedalo antics in the Caribbean were merely a distant memory. Some may argue that he was forgiven for those blips because people saw him as one of their own, a bit of a mischievous larrikin, Freddie the lad. But I suspect without his Ashes heroics, the English cricketing public wouldn’t have been quite so quick to forgive and forget.
As with Flintoff, Chris Gayle appears carefree in his approach to the game but his Test match record is highly respectable with over 6,000 runs at an average of 41.65. And of course, his scintillating performances in ODI and T20 cricket have gained him a reputation as a crowd-pleaser who justifies an entrance fee alone.
However, patience is wearing thin with him amongst the Caribbean cricketing fraternity. Over the last few years Gayle has consistently been at odds with the West Indian authorities, perhaps dating back to his comment in 2007 that he would not be overly disappointed if Test cricket died out. As the captain of a Test side who flew in to the country a mere 48 hours before the start of a series due to ‘financial commitments’ in the IPL, this was unsurprisingly not received well.
His most recent feud with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is nothing new in Caribbean cricket. The truth is that they have been mistreating players for years, and there are only too many players – past and present – who would testify to this. However, the response to Gayle’s stance is in stark contrast to that towards Shiv Chanderpaul, who was equally critical of the authorities but unwavering in his desire to represent West Indies.
Moreover, Chanderpaul has time and time again performed for West Indies in times of crisis and in pressure situations, proving his commitment and his ability to rise to the big occasion. Gayle, for all his spectacular performances, has consistently failed to deliver when it has mattered most:
Champions Trophy final 2004 – 23
Champions Trophy final 2006 – 37
World Cup quarter-final 2011 – 8
IPL final 2011 – 0
Champions League T20 final 2011 – 5
In each of these tournaments Gayle played a starring role but when the opportunity to establish himself as a ‘great’ rather than a ‘crowd-pleaser’ presented itself, he misread the script. This is why West Indian supporters – despite universally accepting that West Indies would be better with his presence – are finding it much more difficult to support him than they have other players in conflict with the WICB.
His career has had many highlights but still represents unfulfilled potential on the biggest stage and he has continued to let down West Indian supporters when they’ve needed him most. They say that champions are born and not made and Chris Gayle risks leaving behind a legacy as a would-be champion who never did justice to his vast talent.