Australia sunk in a perfect storm

We don’t have many of these days in England. Where the weather is moody, hot and sticky. The clouds bunch up. For hours it looks like the storm will break. Eventually, all hell breaks loose – hail, thunder, lightning and flood. So it has been this year with Chris Gayle. He has spent the previous month looking stormy and moody. Hardly a smile and not many runs. Sulking at his position and the weather – not that I can blame him there. The storm finally broke yesterday with Gayle and Fletcher assaulting the Australian bowling. Australia were not so much beaten and blown away in ten overs. Chasing 170, West Indies were 120-0 after ten! Brett Lee on his return to the Australian side bowled very quickly, topping 93mph. He disappeared even more quickly with Gayle hitting him clean out of the ground and taking 27 from one over. Andre Fletcher’s contribution to the thumping should not be forgotten. He started the assault and after they had broken the back of the chase he batted sensibly – milking the bowling. A real revelation.

Gayle’s innings was not all savagery and violence. He played proper cricket shots full of style. Earlier in the day we saw McCullum and Taylor blast it for New Zealand but their innings were just slog-fests. They had none of Gayle’s class. Will we see a better innings this tournament? I hope so.

Chris "Captain of Misery" Gayle speaks

How to lose your cool image in one go:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/may/12/chris-gayle-andrew-strauss-cricket

Chances of West Indies winning in Durham: almost zero

West Indies and England both show their true form

Chris Gayle, Dwane Bravo and Fidel Edwards showed today why they are going to be a real threat for the Twenty20 World Cup. Fidel was fast and furious; he scared the England top order and sent the rest into a panic. Dwane continued his comeback trail by destroying the England middle order, taking 4-19 – how the West Indies have missed their talisman. As for Chris Gayle, his innings was simply breathtaking. He took 24 from Mascarenhas‘s only over and made him look like a net bowler – which he effectively is on good wickets. There can have been fewer demonstrations of clean hitting, all around the wicket.

England, of course, was terrible. Beaten inside 15 overs, the batting didn’t seem to have much of a clue and only Flintoff had any control with the ball. They played like amateurs and seem to have perfected the art of mugging themselves. Ian Botham said before the match started ‘It has been a tough winter for England’. A couple of months in the West Indies – he should try it from this end...