Gayle has been dismissed four times by Doug Bollinger this season. In fact, Gayle quipped before West Indies’ second test against Australia in December, he didn’t even know who Bollinger is but he has learned quickly and is still trying to figure out a way of dealing with him.

Bollinger dismissed Gayle for the fourth time this season when the West Indian skipper was lbw first ball in Adelaide on Tuesday as Australia raced to a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

“He has my measure, definitely,” Gayle said in the Advertiser. “There is no doubt about that.”

But being the competitor he is, Gayle is looking forward to his next contest with Bollinger at the SCG in the third match on Friday. “These things are good for the game,” he said. “Hopefully we can get a good start in Sydney and we don’t expose our middle order again.”

The Australians have not let Gayle get away in this series so far, cramping the left-hander for room and the move has been successful, with the batsman scoring seven runs in the opening two fixtures. Bollinger’s plan in Adelaide revolved around bowling as straight as possible. “It was great to get Chris Gayle again,” Bollinger said. “If he wants to be my bunny he can. I’ll be happy to get him again.”

West Indies, who are now 2-0 down in the five-match series, will need to play out of their skins if they are to overcome the Australians in any of the final three matches but the way they have been outplayed and outclassed in the first two games, the chances of a West Indies fightback look bleak. Gayle, however, begged to differ.

“We can still win 3-2,” Gayle said. “If we can get to 2-1, we can get things happening for us. We need to make it more interesting so you can get some more ticket sales.”

“I don’t know why he did it but it brought a bad name to the country. The good thing is that at least he realised his mistake and admitted it. I hope he does not repeat it. Pakistan cricket does not need such incidents,” Yousuf said.

Pakistan’s test and ODI skipper returned home last night after a humiliating Australian tour where they were whitewashed in both one-day and Test series.

Afridi, who led Pakistan in the final one-dayer, was seen biting the ball and was later banned by the match referee for two Twenty20 matches on pleading guilty and apologising for his action.

Yousuf also rubbished reports that he will step down as captain following the disappointing performance Down Under.

“I accepted the captaincy for these difficult tours at a time when no player was willing to accept this challenge. I think I have done a decent job and I want to continue as captain; I will not resign,” he said when asked to comment on statements from the PCB that they would appoint a new captain after the Australian tour.

Yousuf said that statements like the one made by PCB chairman Ejaz Butt in the middle of the tour did affect the team’s performance in the one-day series. “It did affect our performances as it hit the morale of the team and some players started fancying their chances of becoming captain,” he said, reacting to PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt’s statement that younger players will be handed over the reins of the team.

The veteran batsman said that there was no need to make the statement during the series and even if the board wanted to remove him it was their decision. “I admit our performance was bad throughout the series, it was an unsuccessful tour for us… but the results against Australia could have been better had our fielding and batting not let us down.”

Pakistan didn’t manage to win a single game on the tour being thrashed 3-0 in the Test series and 5-0 in the one-day series in Australia and Waqar, who was the bowling and fielding coach of the team, said they were some non-cricketing reasons for the debacle in Australia.

“I will only spell out these reasons before the National Assembly standing committee on sports,” Waqar told Geo News from Melbourne.

“I want the committee to call me as I want to tell the people the reasons for the team’s poor performances,” Waqar said, threatening to spill the beans.

Waqar said he wanted to discuss the reasons for the defeats before the committee so that everyone was aware of what was going on in Pakistan cricket. “I just feel the committee has to work with sincerity if they want to bring about positive changes in Pakistan cricket,” he said.

Pakistan, however, put up their best bowling performance of the entire tour bowling Australia out for 127. But even a modest target of 128 proved to be a bit too much for the tourists as they fell short by 2 runs in front of a dazzling exhibition of fast bowling by the Australians.

Kamran Akmal perfectly set up the game for Pakistan with a blistering knock of 64 off just 33 balls and Umar Akmal took them till the final over. Needing 10 runs off the final over being bowled by Shane Watson, Akmal holed in the deep of the first ball to put an end to any hopes that Pakistan had of registering their first win of the tour. Mohammad Asif hit a boundary of the final ball of the innings but Pakistan could only reach 125 for 9, falling short by 2 runs.

Pakistan were rattled right from the very first over of their innings with Shaun Tait, returning from a career threatening injury, sending down thunderbolts at the Pakistan openers. He consistently touched the 155 km/h mark with one delivery registering the speed of 160.7 km/h, a speed that has only been bettered by Shoaib Akhtar. Dirk Nannes, bowling from the other hand, wasn’t as fast as Tait but fast enough to cause problems to the batsmen.

Shaun Tait finished with career-best figures of 3-13 off 4 overs, including the all-important wicket of Kamran Akmal, while Shane Watson and Steve Smith took two wickets apiece.

Earlier, winning the toss and opting to bat first, Australia were bowled out for 127 off 18.4 overs. The home team lost Shane Watson in the second over run out for 8. David Warner, however, lifted the hosts with a typically aggressive 24 from just 14 balls.

Captain Michael Clarke (32 off 26 balls) added quick runs with Warner but once the duo fell in quick succession, Pakistan made a strong comeback into the game with some uncharacteristically brilliant fielding and accurate fast bowling. Umar Gul, now known mostly for his exploits in Twenty20 cricket, was the pick of the bowlers finishing with figures of 3 for 20 off 3.4 overs.

David Hussey remained unbeaten on 40 and helped Australia reach a score in excess of 100.

Having completed a thorough whitewash, Australia now get set to take on the West Indies in a five-match one-day series from Sunday while Pakistan, beaten and bruised, would aim for redemption when the resume their cricketing calendar with a visit to the Emirates for a series against England.

Match Summary:

Australia 127 (Hussey 40*, Gul 3-20) beat Pakistan 9 for 125 (K Akmal 64, Tait 3-13) by 2 runs

Man of the Match: Shaun Tait

“Cricket Australia has deeply regretted the incident and said they were taking steps to ensure it does not happen again with any team,” Wasim Bari, the chief operating officer of the board said. “They have told us they have dealt with the offender in the strongest possible manner under the law and he has been fined heavily and banned.”

Pakistan batsman Khalid Latif was tackled to the ground by an unidentified spectator who ran through the security cordon during the fifth and final one-day international at Perth. Security personal moved quickly to arrest the offender and led him away from the ground as Latif got up smiling but obviously shaken.

Bari said the PCB would still be pursuing the issue with the International Cricket Council as it was an issue that dealt with safety and security of players from any team. “We will bring this up at the executive board meeting of the ICC this month as we feel home boards need to have a uniform security plan to stop such incidents from happening,” said Bari.

“Malik will lead the Pakistan team in the only T20 match against Australia in the absence of Afridi,” the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said.

Afridi had, on Sunday, pleaded guilty for ball tampering after he was caught on camera biting the ball during the fifth and final one-dayer against Australia. The ban on Afridi forced Pakistan to find another captain to lead the side in the only Twenty20 match at Melbourne on February 5.

Afridi had led Pakistan in the shortest form of the game since Younis Khan retired from T20 after guiding Pakistan to the World Twenty20 title in England last year.

Malik, 28, was sacked as captain after a 2-1 home one-day series defeat against Sri Lanka in January last year. He led Pakistan to finish runners-up in the first World Twenty20 held in South Africa in 2007.

Afridi, who has been banned for two twenty20 internationals for biting the ball during the fifth and final one-dayer against Australia at Perth, said that ball tampering is nothing new but he feels that he shouldn’t have done it.

“There is no team in the world that doesn’t tamper with the ball,” said Afridi in his defence.

“My methods were wrong. I am embarrassed, I shouldn’t have done it. I just wanted to win us a game but this was the wrong way to do it,” Afridi was quoted as saying by the local media. “I shouldn’t have done it. It just happened. I was trying to help my bowlers and win a match, one match.”

“I apologise to all and everyone involved in the match and to the fans around the world. This will never happen again,” he added.

Afridi also said that since he was leading the side in that game, he should have been even more careful about his on-field conduct. “Being the captain, I should have been a role-model for my players which I was not, but I hope I will be forgiven,” he said.

Former Pakistan skipper Inzamam Ul Haq also lashed out at Afridi, saying that he was lucky to have got away with a two-match ban. “What Afridi did was unacceptable and more worrying is the fact that he was captain when he tried to tamper with the ball,” Inzamam added. “The match referee Ranjan Madugalle has been kind to Afridi, giving him just a two-match ban or else Afridi could have been in bigger trouble.”

Meanwhile, in another interesting development, a television footage of Afridi allegedly admitting to frequently ball tampering has surfaced. “Only (a) few get to do some bit of ball tampering. If the weather is dry and hot then you can get some help from the pitch while bowling. But you also have to help the ball yourself. You have to tamper with the ball to make it swing (on subcontinental pitches). It spells death for bowlers if you don’t tamper with the ball. You can get some help from the pitch but even then you have to ‘make’ the ball,” Afridi admitted.

He in fact went to the extent of saying that ball tampering should be legalised by the ICC. “The game and its rules are changing. You should be allowed to tamper with the ball after the 30th or 40th over,” he says in the footage.

“I am embarrassed — I have made a mistake,” Afridi told Pakistan’s Geo TV after the International Cricket Council (ICC) banned him for two Twenty20 internationals for tampering with the ball during the fifth and final ODI against Australia in Perth. “I was frustrated because the Pakistan team hasn’t won any match for quite some time.”

“I am not a fast bowler who would tamper the ball. I was just trying to help the bowler. There is no team in the world that doesn’t tamper with the ball but my approach was wrong,” said Afridi.

Afridi said that Pakistan was a “very talented” team and had “potential match winners” and he shouldn’t have embarrassed them and himself by his action. “I shouldn’t have done this. I have been punished for my fault. I should learn a lesson out of this incident,” he said.

ICC Match referee Ranjan Madugalle banned Afridi after holding a hearing on the complaint by on-field umpires.

Afridi, who led Pakistan in the final ODI in place of the unfit Mohammad Yousuf, was caught on camera chewing on one side of the ball while walking to the run up with bowler Mohammad Asif.

This is not the first time that the flamboyant all-rounder has got himself in trouble. In 2005, Afridi was banned for twisting his spikes and trying to change the condition of the pitch during a Test match in Faisalabad against England.

Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam confirmed that match referee Ranjan Madugalle has banned Afridi for two matches after holding a hearing on the complaint by on-field umpires Asoka De Silva and Paul Reiffel immediately after the match.

“It is unfortunate what has happened because Afridi was due to lead Pakistan in the Twenty20 match next week against Australia,” Alam said from Perth.

Afridi, who was leading the side in the final ODI in place of the unfit Mohammad Yousuf, was caught on camera, on more than one occasion, chewing on one side of the ball.

Trying to change the condition of the ball through illegal means prompts strict penalties from the ICC. In 2005, Afridi was banned for twisting his spikes and trying to change condition of the pitch during a Test match in Faisalabad against England.

Chasing 213 to win, Australia didn’t get off to the best of starts but a fluent 55 by skipper Ricky Ponting brought them back into the game. Pakistan, however, kept chipping away at the wickets until Hussey and Hauritz came together to take Australia over the finishing line with four balls to spare.

It was probably one of a kind ending to the game, with No. 10 Ryan Harris on strike as Rao Iftikhar Anjum bowled a waist-high full toss which was ruled a no-ball to signal Australia’s victory.

Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat, having already conceded the four-match series. Regular skipper Mohammad Yousuf pulled out of the match at the last minute which prompted Shahid Afridi to take over the captaincy, but the visitors never got going against a clinical bowling performance by the Aussies. Pakistan got off to the worst possible start as openers Salman Butt and Khalid Latif both departed for ducks.

Younis Khan’s dismal run with the bat continued as the Pakistani No. 3 was caught behind off Clint McKay for a painstaking three, before Shoaib Malik (36), Umar Akmal (67) and Fawad Alam (63) staged a revival.

Australian speedster Clint McKay was declared the man of the match for his 4-35 while Ryan Harris, who picked up three wickets in this game and 13 in the three matches that he played in the series, was declared the Man of the Series.

Match Summary:

Australia 8 for 214 (Ponting 55, Hussey 40*) beat Pakistan 212 (Umar Akmal 67, Fawad Alam 63, McKay 4-35, Harris 3-44) by two wickets

Man of the Match: Clint McKay

Man of the Series: Ryan Harris