Undisciplined batting leaves Gayle annoyed

BRIDGETOWN, Bridgetown, CMC – West Indies’ wretched batting continues to be source of irritation for skipper Chris Gayle.

Twice during the just concluded third Test against South Africa at Kensington Oval, he watched his side collapse to inadequate totals of 231 and 161, resulting in a seven-wicket defeat inside four days on Tuesday.

“I am very disappointed. I thought where we went wrong was in the batting department,” said Gayle who also struggled with the bat in scoring just 159 runs during the three-Test series.

“It was a good pitch to bat on. To get 231 runs on a decent [wicket] would always put us on the back foot. South Africa showed their application and then got the better of us and got a 100-run lead on that sort of pitch and then did the damage at the end.

“It’s sad to end the series in this way. We were up against the best team and the better team won in the end.”

The defeat spelled a 2-0 series loss for the Windies, their six straight at the hands of South Africa. They have now won just one of their last 19 Tests against the Proteas.

West Indies struggled throughout the series, with totals of 102 and 293 in the opening Test in Port of Spain that led to a 163-run defeat.

On a flat, lifeless Warner Park strip, they piled up 546 in the second Test but returned to their woeful ways in the final match.

“When I looked at some of the dismissals it was actually errors from some of the batters,” Gayle pointed out.

“Based on the last performance we had in St Kitts I thought we would have put up another resistance against the South African bowling attack. We have to give credit to them as they bowled well also but to get 231 was a big disappointment.”

He said his batsmen needed to follow the example set by the Proteas who were always disciplined in their approach.

“We can take a leaf out of the South African books by the way they go about their cricket and their discipline,” said the 30-year-old left-hander.

“When I say discipline I mean they showed the application out there in the middle and if they don’t get that start there is always someone there to put their hand up and make a big one for their team.

“We need more of that. We do it but inconsistently. We are just trying to be more consistent in whatever areas we do. We had a lot of injuries, we had a couple of senior players out and hopefully we can get everybody fully fit and back together as one.”