LONDON, CMC – Chris Gayle admitted that fatigue may have played a part, but he felt that West Indies’ batting is what let them down in their 20-run defeat in the Twenty20 World Cup against South Africa on Saturday.
West Indies were playing their second match in less than 24 hours, following their seven-wicket victory the previous day over India, one of the tournament favourites, across town at the famous Lord’s.
The West Indies captain noted that his side may not have shown it during the match, but it was a challenge.
“I would not say it affected us too much, but Twenty20 is the shortest version of the game, and it may look simple,” Gayle told reporters. “It takes a lot out of you mentally!”
He added: “I even feel drained a bit. Having said this, we knew the itinerary was like this, and so we came to play a good game of cricket, and we are disappointed that we lost again to South Africa.
“I have to commend the guys for the effort that they put out, following on from what happened [on Friday]. We came to try and better that performance, but it did not happen.
“We did not get a chance to plan for South Africa, but we supposed to be professionals, and this is what we are here to do, so we will had to give it our best.”
Lendl Simmons belted 77 from 50 balls, but Wayne Parnell snared four wickets to undermine West Indies’ chase of 184.
No West Indies batsman other than Simmons passed 20, and Dwayne Bravo with 19, and Sulieman Benn with 13 not out were the only others to reach double figures.
“The batting let us down – the top of the order – myself and Andre Fletcher got out early, and losing wickets as early as we did in this format of the game, it always puts the side under pressure,” said Gayle.
“I thought Lendl Simmons batted really, really well, and gave us a bit of hope, and I was also pleased with the last five overs which we bowled when South Africa batted.
“At one stage, it looked as though they may have passed 200, but credit to South Africa, they did really well, and we will have to put this behind us now, and focus on our final match against England on Monday.”
Saturday’s result leaves West Indies in second place in the group on two points – two behind the unbeaten South Africans – and they must now beat hosts England today for the first time in the two months they have spent there in their final Super Eight match at the same venue to guarantee a place in the semifinals.
