Jamaica’s prime minister Portia Simpson Miller has demanded that a resolution in the impasse between Chris Gayle and the West Indies Cricket Board be found quickly. Speaking at the Jamaica Cricket Association awards, Simpson Miller said that Gayle was being treated unjustly and deserved a place in the West Indies team. She also expressed concern that Sabina Park was not allocated a match for West Indies’ upcoming home one-day and Test series against Australia.
“Justice delayed is justice denied and we demand that a resolution be found as quickly as possible,” Simpson Miller said on the Gayle issue. “Cricket is too important to the people of Jamaica and the West Indies for this to be left down the wicket.”
Gayle last played for West Indies in the 2011 World Cup, after which a conflict with the WICB has kept him out of the setup. In October 2011, the WICB released a statement saying it would consider Gayle for selection if he retracted statements he had made criticising the board and its officers. The release said the board would appoint a facilitator to assist Gayle in complying with their requirements. Gayle, though, said the WICB needed to be specific about what he was supposed to apologise for. He said the board was playing mind games with him, and that he would consider their request at the end of the Regional Super50 competition.
Jamaica won the Regional Super50 with Gayle finishing second on the run-charts. He has continued to collect big runs in Twenty20 competitions and scored his first first-class hundred in over a year, a remarkable innings of 165 off 155 balls out of a total of 298, against Windward Islands earlier this month. However, there have been no significant developments in his relations with the WICB.
Courtesy cricinfo
http://www.espncricinfo.com/westindies/content/current/story/554583.html
