Jamaica Gleaner
Published: Thursday | May 28, 2009
Home : Sport
Gayle looks to T20 World Cup
BIRMINGHAM, England (CMC):

West Indies captain Chris Gayle, reeling from a cluster of poor results in his team's just-concluded series against England, wants the Caribbean side to rebound in next month's ICC World Twenty20 Championship.

Already beaten 2-0 in the Test series, West Indies crashed to a 58-run loss in the third and final one day international (ODI) on Tuesday, handing England another 2-0 series victory.

Gayle blasted his team's performance on the tour and spoke of the chance to restore some pride in the June 5-21 World Twenty20 Championship in England.

"The way we went about it wasn't the best. I am very disappointed with the series result, we lost 2-0, seems like similar to the Test series but, at the same time we just have to try and rebuild again to get back to the T20," Gayle told reporters after Tuesday's ODI loss.

The big opening batsman conceded that his side failed to rise to the challenges and the unfamiliar chilly conditions, but embraced the experience as a warm-up for the World T20 tournament.

"This was a chance to get testing conditions and improve in them. It didn't work, we are disappointed with the loss of both series but, at the same time, it has given us an opportunity to be ready for the Twenty20," he said.

"You have to give credit to England, they outplayed us in both forms of the game, we have ourselves to blame," he added.

Quit Test cricket

West Indies will play in Group C of the Twenty20 World Cup alongside Australia and Sri Lanka and start against the Aussies on Saturday, June 6.

Gayle, who declared recently that he was "misinterpreted" in a newspaper story that said earlier this month he was willing to quit Test cricket and West Indies captaincy because of fatigue and pressures of the job, insisted that he has no plans of giving up the captaincy.

"Yes, definitely, I don't see any reason why I would change now because we lost the series. It's nothing like that you know, I am looking at trying to improve the cricket as we go on," he said.

Asked in a BBC interview if any decision is pending on his reign as captain, Gayle said: "It's up to the board. Whenever they are ready I am ready to do whatever they want, but I am ready to captain whenever."

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