Gayle blames Pollard, Smith and Ramdin for loss against Zimbabwe

By Rahul Bajaj
for Cricketain.com

Published: March 6, 2010

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Georgetown: After his team’s humiliating two-run defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe in the first one-day international of the five-match series, West Indies skipper Chris Gayle has pointed a finger at three batsmen — Dwayne Smith, Kieron Pollard and Denesh Ramdin — for the irresponsible shots that accounted for their dismissal.

“In the Australia series, I saw improvements in the likes of Pollard and Smith,” said Gayle. “To come here and the way they went about it, I must say I am very disappointed in those two guys and Ramdin. Those guys were key for us, and the way they went about it, was a terrible display. It’s very disappointing, and sad to see how they went about it.”

All three batsmen under question were clean bowled trying to play extravagant shots, but Smith’s dismissal with four runs required off the last three balls was particularly painful.

“Zimbabwe are here to win,” said Gayle. “There is no way we can underestimate them. We saw what they have to offer in the Twenty20 International (on Sunday). Zimbabwe have beaten Australia. It is not a team that we are taking for granted. They are here to win just like us, and credit must go to them. The way they pushed and ran hard between the wickets showed how hungry and determined they are.”

Gayle cautioned his side that if they fail to respond to the challenge adequately, they run the risk suffering a hugely embarrassing series whitewash.

“Well done to Zimbabwe, they did well,” he said. “They wanted it more than us. You could see from the way they went about their batting, running between the wickets, and the aggression. We got off to a good start, but we faltered in the middle, two crucial run outs again, and then some. I don’t know how to describe it; a terrible display of batting at the end.”

“We are rebuilding, but if we don’t learn, we’re still going to get beaten. If we continue like this Zimbabwe will beat us 5-0. No excuses. It was a terrible display, and some immature cricket. We need to dig ourselves quickly out of this hole. There are a lot of things to put on the table and discuss,” said the West Indian skipper.

Gayle also urged the West Indies fans to not give up on the team because the series was still open. He reminded everyone that West Indies had also fallen behind in their previous ODI series against Zimbabwe, and rebounded to win that series 4-1.

“We are still going to need that support regardless of the result,” he said. “When you do crap, it’s definitely crap, and there is no excuse. Guys have to take responsibility out there in the middle. It is just sad and disappointing.”

The second ODI will be played on Saturday at the same venue.

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