Tony Becca
The Test series between the West Indies and South Africa comes to an end at the Antigua Recreation Ground today and with one full day to go there is still time for someone, a batsman or a bowler, to leave his mark on it - to emulate the deeds of Wavell Hinds and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Brian Lara and Ramnaresh Sarwan, Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis, Makhaya Ntini and Andre Nel, and of course Christopher Gayle.
Going into the final match with a grand total of 12 runs from four innings in two matches, Gayle was under fire from every quarter - so much so that but for a few who said, no, not so quickly, there were many who believed that he should have been dropped after the third Test.
WONDERFUL COUNTER-ATTACK
After looking indecisive in the previous four innings, however, after being caught in no-man's land on three occasions, Gayle came to the ARG and batted the way he knows to bat and in the process caned the South African bowlers, entertained the fans, and with the West Indies facing an imposing 588 for six declared, led a wonderful counter-attack.
Looking back at the West Indies performance at the ARG in 2003 and 2004 when Australia and then England threatened a whitewash, when the West Indies won one by producing a world record second innings to win a match and drew the other by amassing 751 for five declared with Brian Lara contributing a world record 400 not out, Gayle's performance may be no big thing.
In other words, with South Africa entering the match with a two-nil lead, with the series already decided, with no pressure on the West Indies, with the pitch a batsman's paradise, Gayle's performance, like Ramnaresh Sarwan's, may well be par for the course.
PERFECT EXAMPLE
To me, however, it was more than that. To me, it was a perfect example of a man simply doing what he knows to do - of a batsman batting the way he knows to bat, batting the way he can bat, and enjoying himself.
After hooking and falling for six in the first innings of the second Test, Gayle, going forward tentatively, edged Ntini to AB de Villiers in the slips in the second innings, and after going back defensively and edging Nel to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher in the first innings of the second Test, he was caught in between going back and going forward in the second innings and edged a catch to Smith at first slip.
DIFFERENT GAYLE
On Sunday, however, it was a different Gayle. On Sunday it was a man who, after two close calls, decided to do what he can do and a man who, apparently, was confident in his ability to do what he can do and what he does best.
After going forward defensively and missing the first ball, after driving tentatively and edging the fourth ball between second slip and gully, Gayle launched into the bowlers and he was magnificent from then to the end of his innings, especially so for the next 60 minutes when he slammed 10 fours and three sixes and set the tone for the West Indies reply.
Gayle, playing defensively, was lucky to survive the first ball and the fourth ball, and in the future, he may well fall early while attacking.
The big left-hander is an attacking batsman by nature, he enjoys striking the ball and that is what he should try as often as possible.
In life the great ones are those who do what comes naturally, enjoy what they do and chances are Gayle will be more successful the more he bats the way he knows to bat, the way he can bat, and the way he enjoys batting.
