THERE IS NO RIFT in the West Indies team and the players aren’t partygoers.
Embattled captain Chris Gayle made this clear here last weekend following their sixth straight defeat – two Twenty20s and four One-Day Internationals – at the hands of South Africa in the 2010 Digicel home series.
“I’m basically disappointed that we’ve lost so many games but generally, everyone gets on well with each other,” Gayle said at a post-match Press conference.
Gayle made the remark after sending off left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn for his reluctance to change his bowling approach during South Africa’s successful run-chase which gave them a 4-0 lead in the five-match One-Day series.
“The one downside is to get that win but we’ve worked extremely hard, preparation-wise. It’s just unfortunate that we are not getting the results out there in the middle,” Gayle said.
“It’s a mental situation we’ve actually reached now but we’ve got to come out of the situation as quickly as possible, because, unfortunately, losing is becoming a habit and it’s a bit difficult to get out of.
“That means that you don’t know how to win games anymore, so we need to try and turn things around,” he remarked.
But Gayle denied the run of losses had resulted from late-night partying by some players.
“Those days are over, to be honest with you. We are playing so much cricket (that) we don’t really have time to do that,” Gayle added.
“But guys need to be free. We don’t want to put any burden on anyone.
“They are big men and we don’t want to treat them like kids, but at the same time the conditions are very hot and you don’t expect anyone to be partying. We’ve passed that stage,” the 30-year-old Jamaican contended.
“We’ve been criticised for that over the last couple of years and we are just trying to turn things around. We are making a lot of sacrifices in every department,” he noted.
Despite the losing streak, Gayle, who has led the Windies to 17 wins with 29 losses and six no-results in 52 ODIs said he was keen to continue leading the side and would be giving the job his best shot.
“At the end of the day, the way I look at it, I’m not going to be captain for ever. At some stage, you are going to have a new captain but I’m going to look at the situation,” said Gayle, who also had three wins, seven losses and seven draws in 17 Tests as captain since he took up the job in 2007.
“It’s just one of those things and I’m sure they will be looking to groom someone at some given time. I’m not sure when (but) I’m really all for it and giving it my best shot,” Gayle said.
“You still got to put out the effort and keep working and keep striving and trying to make progress for the West Indies,” the captain concluded.
