Shane Watson goes teenybopper

The best writing on the web can be found in the comments sections of YouTube videos. No, not really. But every once in a while, a gem shows up there that deserves to be highlighted. For instance, four hours ago, a worthy nicknamed xxImSexy7272xx, wrote the following in response to Shane Watson's celebration of Chris Gayle's dismissal:

What an absolute TOSSER. He looks like a fucking 12 year old girl after winning tickets to the see the latest Twilight film.

Could I have said it any better? I don't think so.

Chris Gayle and test cricket

Is West Indies cricket a basket-case? Is the Pope Catholic?

Now that that is settled, lets talk a bit about Chris Gayle. On the face of it, a test captain talking about the stresses of the job in the middle of a test series is no big deal. Other test captains have done it before (my encylopedic knowledge of test cricket history fails me at this moment, but I know its been done). What bothers most people is the expressed preference for T20 cricket over test cricket (in the middle of a test series). Now that really seems to indicate Gayle's mind is not on the job. And given the context of his late arrival for the test series from a T20 tournament, the IPL, its made worse. The proverbial last straw of course, is that Gayle's comments have been made in the middle of a test series against England, in England, in the glare of the spotlight of a media that has appointed itself the Defenders of the Faith when it comes to test cricket. But I'm a bit of a Defender of the Faith itself when it comes to test cricket, so whats the story here? What judgment shall we pass on Gayle? (Passing judgment is fun; I highly recommend it to all and sundry: do it at least once a day, and preferably more often if possible).

Here is mine: Gayle showed a poor sense of timing. That's about it. I think he rates test cricket highly and takes it seriously. His expression after the win in Kingston over England earlier this year spoke volumes about what he thinks about tests. If you are a serious cricketer (and despite his hang ten demeanor, Gayle is a pretty serious cricketer, rest assured), you have to have figured out that test cricket is the highest form of the game and that winning a test is a big deal. At the same time, its not surprising that a man dealing with a board like the WICB, which arranged a two-test series which counts as a Wisden Trophy defense so early in the English season after West Indian players had signed their IPL contracts, and an English captain thats sniping at him, would get a little snippy.

But if Gayle loves test cricket, why is expressing a preference for T20? Well, fundamentally, (besides the ludicrous variance in the time spent versus money earned equations for test cricket and T20 cricket) if I was made to play on the lame roads that are now routinely prepared for test cricket, I would be indicating a preference for T20 pretty darn quick. Test cricket suffers worldwide from dead pitches (and a host of other factors, but this is a good one to start with) and its stars have to be frustrated by a situation in which their efforts come to a nought because of the obsession of the world's boards with preparing pitches that 'go the distance' without considering that this might be killing the golden goose.

And its being killed, no fear. I'm a bit of a Cassandra when it comes to this matter, and there'll be plenty more to say about this because this discussion isn't going away.

Sensible Gayle

Chris Gayle's captaincy yesterday at Sabina Park on the first day of the first England-West Indies test, in not changing the field after Kevin Pietersen had just launched into Suleiman Benn for a 4,4,6 on his way to 97, has been justfiably praised. I think its important to see his refusal to change the field when Pietersen was cutting loose as a very good demonstration of cricketing common sense. For note that had he pushed the field back when Pietersen back, the most likely course of action would have been a deft single or two, a safe passage to the century. Instead, by not changing the field, the temptation to finish off business with a boundary remained strong for KP. It would have been easier to discipline himself to go for a single with the field pushed back than it was to restrain himself from going a boundary with the same field and bowler that had already netted him 14. Changing the field would have slowed things down and let KP have a think. Better to keep things going as they were, to let the rush of blood stay in KP's head. And it worked.