Gayle said that while he had no particular “bunny” (a bowler the batter finds easy to face), he did enjoy facing left-arm spinners.
“I eat left-arm spinner for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”
Chris Gayle to play Black Clash
Gayle is playing in the T20 Black Clash in January, joining the rugby side as they take on former Black Caps cricketers. He will likely face some of the bowlers against whom he built such a fearsome reputation as a power hitter.
He told Newstalk ZB’s D’Arcy Waldegrave: “I’m looking forward to being in that dressing room, with the rugby players and seeing what is it like.”
When asked if he was keeping himself in shape, Gayle said he was in training for his birthday party this week (his 45th).
“So, I’m looking after myself – you know, getting a lot of massage.”
The opener revealed that being dropped from the West Indies side after first making the team had sharpened his focus.
“When I started out playing international cricket, I was pretty much carefree. I wasn’t really looking down the road... I was just playing in the moment and enjoying it, being swashbuckling, attacking. And then it’s only when I get dropped out of the team, that’s when you get that wake-up call and realise how serious the international level is.
“And then when you actually look into yourself now, then you’re going to set yourself that target like: ‘hey, do you really want to go further? Do you want to be one of the, the big stars? Do you want to be one of the main players on the team?’
“When I got dropped from the West Indies, I’d played like four test matches and got dropped immediately.
“So, I’m like, the next time I get the opportunity back in the West Indian team, I’m not going to look back because I didn’t like the 9-to-5 jobs.
“So, I went and dominated first-class cricket.”
“So, I had a motive – I was really motivated to get back to the team. And when I did, I just never looked back and, you know, I went on to play over 100 test matches.”
Gayle retired from tests with a batting average of 42.2 and with 15 centuries to his name.
“Sometimes it takes a little thing to get that wake-up call – I was just pretty much taking it for granted.”
He said he kept aggression at the heart of his play when he returned to the side and throughout his celebrated career.
“But it’s also about being mindful of how to score heavily or how to bat longer when you play the test matches.”
Gayle said his proudest achievements were his two triple centuries. He hit 317 against South Africa at Antigua in 2005, and 333 against Sri Lanka at the Galle in 2010.
T20 Black Clash – Saturday, January 18, Hagley Oval, Christchurch
Watch live on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ +
