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"It's party time in Jamaica" - Chris Gayle

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By Author CPL

An alien from Mars has just landed and Chris Gayle is the man tasked with explaining what the CPL is all about.

“I’d say ‘Just come to Jamaica, observe and you’ll see it all - the biggest tournament ever.”

Gayle, the Jamaica Tallawahs captain and talisman, says the island is bursting with excitement as champagne corks prepare to pop for the biggest party in sport.

The man who has claimed the title of ‘World Boss’ is living up to his name in England at present.

 

“The fans in Jamaica are fantastic. We love it, we are passionate about our game there” - Chris Gayle

 

Gayle is in sparkling form for Somerset in the #T20Blast, smashing 328 runs in three innings to date, including a blistering 151 not out.

But he says he is excited at the prospect of heading back to the Caribbean and sampling the legendary atmosphere generated by the fans in his home country. 

“The fans in Jamaica are fantastic. We love it, we are passionate about our game there,” Gayle explained.

“They are looking forward to the party, the music, the sexy ladies coming out to watch the game, the cheerleaders.

“There’s a great atmosphere, everyone is looking forward to it. You have a beer or you have some rum - you can choose which one you want. 

“Everyone will be drinking something for sure and then after the game it's a big party.

“Hopefully we can lift the trophy for them again and I’m sure they will get behind us when the games are played at Sabina Park - it should be a fantastic crowd. It's going to be a great atmosphere.”

 

"We play competitive, entertaining cricket - that’s the real objective" - Chris Gayle

 

Gayle, the first man to hit a century in the CPL, is desperate to help the Tallawahs land a second CPL title, after they clinched the inaugural tournament in 2013.

“We want to lift the trophy once more because we know what it’s like to celebrate a championship,” he said. 

“We want to be the last team standing. It’s going to be challenging because all the teams are well balanced - that will make the tournament even more fantastic to have such qualities in each team.”

Balance is a characteristic that Gayle insists his side also possess.

The Tallawahs have extensive experience to call on, adding Sri Lanka veteran Mahela Jayawardene to a squad that already contains Kiwi spinner Daniel Vettori.

With recent IPL MVP Andre Russell also in their ranks, as well as explosive Australian Chris Lynn, Gayle thinks his unit have all bases covered.

“We all know Mahela and his capabilities - he is a class player and has done well in all formats of the game he has played,” Gayle added.

“It’s great to have such an experienced guy in your team - I’m looking forward to playing with him. It’s going to be fantastic. 

“Those guys are accustomed to the condition, playing in Sri Lanka, the wickets are a bit slower. 

“He’s a great player of spin and we’re going to get a lot of spin in the CPL so it’s good to have a player like Mahela. 

“We have a new recruit, Chris Lynn, he can smash it a long way - he’s tiny but he’s dangerous. 

“Then more experience with Daniel Vettori - you know what sort of guy he is - very cool, one of, if not the best left arm spinner Test cricket has ever seen. It’s a great balance of guys in our team.”

With so much West Indian talent on show Gayle is constantly coming up against current and former team-mates.

So is there anyone he is out to get?!

“No, I don’t do that, I don’t try and prove on my own guys," he said. "When we do play against each other we play hard, off the field you can have a laugh about it. 

“We play competitive, entertaining cricket - that’s the real objective. On Twitter, yes, we have a little banter now and again - we’re relaxed on and off the field and it’s good to do those sort of things.”

A slice of recent banter involved Darren Sammy, when highlights of Gayle’s magnificent 63-ball century against the St Lucia Zouks in 2014 was posted on the CPL’s Twitter account.

A decent chunk of Gayle's 10 sixes in that explosive innings came against his West Indies team-mate.

“That’s when I tweeted Darren Sammy and said ‘You don’t want to watch this, Darren!’ It was fantastic - a great innings," Gayle added. 

“As an opening batsman you get a chance to bat 20 overs so you try and make the best use of it and use your experience as well - when to go and when to pull it back a bit. 

“It was fantastic to get the first CPL hundred and after that hundred after hundred kept popping from other players.”

 

Five things you may not know about Chris Gayle :

  • Gayle hit the first ever CPL hundred in 2014, hitting 111 not out against the St Lucia Zouks
  • He played all 11 of the Tallawahs games last year averaging 40.33 runs an innings
  • Chris Gayle has been in fine form in 2015, averaging over 65 runs from 19 innings, including a 151 not out playing for Somerset 
  • Gayle has played 212 T20 matches in his career, hitting 15 hundreds and 49 fifties
  • His best partnership in the CPL was with Owais Shah when they scored 79 runs 

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"It's party time in Jamaica" - Chris Gayle CPL T20

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