I am not winning games alone: Chris Gayle
In four innings in the limited-overs matches against New Zealand on the current tour, Chris Gayle's lowest score has been 53 and his lowest strike-rate in an innings has been an amazing 110.5. Despite that, Gayle says his wicket is not the key for New Zealands bowlers, or not the only one.
- Wisden India Staff
- Updated: July 11, 2012 07:13 pm IST
In four innings in the limited-overs matches against New Zealand on the current tour, Chris Gayle's lowest score has been 53 and his lowest strike-rate in an innings has been an amazing 110.5. Despite that, Gayle says his wicket is not the key for New Zealand's bowlers, or not the only one.
"When you look at the last home series against Australia, I wasn't here, other guys got runs, Pollard got a hundred and others did well," said Gayle. "So far in this series, I have made the most runs, but Smithy (Dwayne Smith) got runs and Marlon (Samuels) scored a good hundred in the last game."
"The guys waiting are hungry and we are all capable of doing the job. It's not about one individual making the team win," said Gayle. "Yes, I have been getting runs, but we have others in the team who can do the job. Guys are looking to step up and do what is required for the team."
That's not what New Zealand's bowlers think though, with Nathan McCullum emphasizing the need to get Gayle early. "At the end of the day we've just got to get him (Gayle) out," said McCullum. "We've got some plans in place that we're pretty sure are going to work. Let's hope they do, but we're determined to take his wicket and get them under pressure at the top of the order."
Gayle returned to the West Indies' team after a lengthy absence towards the end of their tour of England, and in six innings since then, he has failed to cross fifty only once. On Saturday's second One-Day International against New Zealand, he underlined his superb form with a typically aggressive century in a comfortable win.
Gayle was confident of his side's chances for the rest of the series too, saying the West Indians' allround strength would stand them in good stead. "We have a good rhythm, we have a good thing going. We have a strong allround team and we have executed our plans well," said Gayle. "If we are the better team, then we should be able to go out and beat them and that's what we will be looking to do again."
However, Gayle was quick to caution against complacency at the ease with which West Indies have achieved victories. "We can't take them for granted. They might have a few injuries and a few experienced players might be missing, but they still have some quality players in their team," said Gayle. "We can't get complacent and think we have done the job because we are 2-0 up. We have to come out and do the job and that would take us to 3-0."