Never felt this kind of pressure, says Gayle

When the president of your own cricket board is re-tweeting messages suggesting you should retire, you know you need to make something of a statement.

On Tuesday against Zimbabwe, Chris Gayle made that statement in a fashion that can only be described as emphatic.

West Indies Cricket Board president Dave Cameron will not be the only person around the world wiping large amounts of egg off his face over the next couple of days, however.

A poor start to the World Cup had many in the cricket world consigning the 35-year-old to a lucrative semi-retirement in a series of cameos in Twenty20 leagues around the world. After turning it around with a blistering knock, Gayle admitted he had never felt such pressure to perform.

“I was under pressure to score runs, and I kept getting messages from Twitter and on my cell phone from fans. I have never known so many people wanting Chris Gayle to do so well,” said Gayle.

“I have never felt this kind of pressure, but in the end, I am sure I gave them something to talk about,” said Gayle.

“A lot of time people don’t know what you are going through as I had some issues with injuries. I am also not getting any younger so age is definitely catching up on me,” he said.

His innings was only the fifth double century in all one-day international cricket and the first by a non-Indian, with Rohit Sharma (two), Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag the only other batsmen to achieve the feat.

“Ever since Rohit got two, I have been hounded to get one as well,” smiled Gayle, who even took two wickets with his gentle off-spin when Zimbabwe batted. After collecting the man-of-the-match award, Gayle said it was key that his side now focussed on Friday’s crucial clash against South Africa in Sydney. “It was a fantastic day from a personal point of view, but now we have another tough game coming up against South Africa who have just beaten us 4-1 so we’ll be concentrating on that,” he added.

West Indies captain Jason Holder praised Gayle. “Chris is an outstanding player, it’s great to have him back in form and hopefully he can carry it through to the finals,” said Holder.