Chris Gayle bids adieu to List A cricket
||Desk Report||
West Indies batsman Chris Gayle has brought down the curtain on his List A career with a match-winning century in a Regional Super 50 clash between Barbados and Jamaica. He also captained Jamaica in his farewell match at Bridgetown, replacing their regular captain – Nikita Miller.
In his last-ever List A match, Gayle played a 122-run innings which was laced with 10 boundaries and eight over-boundaries. He has 12,436 runs to his name in the format, playing a total of 356 matches.
“It's very pleasing to get a hundred in my last 50-over game for Jamaica, it's something I will always cherish. To lead the team to a win makes it more special. It's been a pleasure representing my country, more so captaining them. I'm thankful and grateful to be standing here aged 39 and still get a century in my last game for Jamaica,” Gayle was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.com.
According to Gayle, he still has enough fuel in the tank in order to continue with his career, but he now wants to be more involved in the life outside cricket.
The 39-year-old has featured in only limited-overs cricket in the last four years, as he became more prominent as a T20 freelancer cricketer. However, he wants to play a first-class match for Jamaica.
“There's a lot in the tank to be honest, but there's life after cricket, so have to enjoy life as well. Playing cricket for over 25 years has been a great achievement from a personal point of view, but I have a family now. I have to gel with them as much as possible and watch your kid grow.
“It's possible that I'll play a four-day game at Sabina Park. If possible, I will definitely play a four-day game. I don't know when it starts but I'll look into the schedule and make myself available,” he said.
Despite being the only cricketer to have scored at least one century in T20Is, one double-century in ODIs, and one triple-hundred in Tests, Gayle labelled his 425-run opening partnership with Leon Garrick in 2001 as the most favorite memory in his 20-year-long professional career. That was the first quadruple century in West Indies’ first-class history, where the ‘Universe Boss’ Gayle made 208 runs.
“That's a special partnership, my most special memory is not from international cricket but for Jamaica. That partnership with Leon is special,” he said. “Also, the two triple hundreds in Tests, the double-century in ODIs [against Zimbabwe at the 2015 World Cup] and the first T20I century by a West Indian - these will all be special, but the 400-partnership will stand out.”
