West Indies v Australia, 4th ODI, St Kitts

Gayle unhappy with selection policy

Cricinfo staff

July 4, 2008

	Chris Gayle: "Two names that we discussed in the 14 are not here. No one has come back to see and said anything. It is disappointing as captain" © PA Photos

Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, has said that there were a "lot of things happening" which he didn't know about regarding selection policy for the one-day series against Australia.

Gayle said he was under the impression that the West Indies squad for the last two matches would comprise 14 players, not 13 as was later announced. "Based on the selection committee, there are some things I don't have much control over at this point in time, regardless [of whether] I'm the captain or not," Gayle told Trinidad Express. "The majority of the time we discuss about selection and sometimes I get something totally different. It's difficult on my side."

The selectors had made changes to the squad, which lost the first three one-dayers against Australia, bringing in three uncapped players - Kemar Roach, Shawn Findlay and Nikita Miller - and omitting Patrick Browne, Sulieman Benn, Kieron Pollard and the injured Jerome Taylor. Gayle did not say who the 14th player was but added that Nevis and West Indies Under-19 batsman Kieran Powell had been part of discussions.

"We only have 13 in the squad at this particular time when there should be 14. I don't know the reason behind that. A 14-man squad was selected," Gayle said before the fourth match. "A lot of things are happening that I don't know about. It's difficult in my situation.

"Two names that we discussed in the 14 are not here. No one has come back to see and said anything. It is disappointing as captain. These are the things you have to deal with."

Gayle was also unhappy about the selectors experimenting with the squad for the series against Australia. "Do you really want to experiment with a team like Australia? If that is the case, it is going to be more difficult to beat them," he said.

"I thought it was the wrong time to try these things, to experiment a lot. It was the totally wrong time to do that ... [we should be] actually trying to look for our best team rather than giving guys an opportunity. We should be looking to win the series, but it's already gone."

West Indies lost the fourth match in St Kitts by one run and now trail 0-4 with one game to play. The fifth one-dayer will be played at Warner Park in St Kitts on July 6.

© Cricinfo