Gayle takes swipe at West Indies board

Chris Gayle trudges through the puddles at Worcester © Getty Images

Chris Gayle has criticised the West Indies board over its arrangements for the one-day series in England and its initial decision to veto his appointment as one-day captain.

Three of the West Indies' 14-man squad arrived in the UK on Thursday morning and did not have enough time to get to Worcester. The management were embarrassingly forced to draft in five players from local leagues and universities to make up numbers.

"I think it's disappointing that we are struggling to find 11 players to turn out," Gayle said in his Cricinfo diary. "First and foremost I am very disappointed with the West Indian Cricket Board for not having the guys here in England already and ready to play. Some of our players from the Test series are carrying some niggles and we had to call up some West Indian players who are playing in the English leagues to come in as cover for the warm-up game."

He went on to say that he was unhappy with the row which surrounded his appointment to the captaincy. He was chosen by the selectors but was then blocked by the board who wanted the Test captain, Daren Ganga, to take charge, even though he had not been selected in the ODI squad. The board subsequently backed down.

"As the captain I have to say that this is disappointing and it is not at all a good start," said Gayle. "I also have to mention that I was hurt and disappointed that after I was nominated as captain by the selectors, I did not initially get the support of the board.

The WICB says they want the best out of players but we also need the best out of the board

"This led to the situation where I could not give my input in selecting the team. However, I have accepted the job and I have to move on with it; we must move forward together.

"Things like these won't make us a better team and won't make West Indies cricket move forward. The board is always talking about players needing to change but we, the players, need changes from the board as well. We can't be out in the wilderness all the time because we are the ones who are getting all the blame.

"These are some of the things that we as players have to go through. The WICB says they want the best out of players but we also need the best out of the board."