Australia's captain Ricky Ponting (left) ducks as Chris Gayle fields the ball during the first day of the first Test in yesterday. - REUTERS
BRISBANE (CMC):
WEST INDIES opener Chris Gayle has admitted that he still has his sights set on Brian Lara's world batting Test record of 400.
The left-handed aggressive batsman, expected to be a key member of the West Indies team in the three-Test series against Australia, says reaching the landmark would be an exceptional achievement.
"It would be nice to challenge myself to see if I can achieve it, it's worth giving it a try, even though these days it's getting a bit harder," Gayle told digicel cricket.com.
"I scored a triple century and I know how hard it is to do that and trust me I know how hard it must be to get to 400. I take my hat off to Brian (Lara)." Gayle has become the region's premier opening batsman in recent time after cementing himself at the top of the order in the West Indies team. He has scored 3,466 runs in 52 Tests at an average of 39.38 but it has been the One Day International arena where Gayle has been particularly devastating, compiling 4,416 runs with 11 centuries. The 26-year old said that he was also targeting a world record in the abbreviated form of the game.
GOOD START
"I remember some time ago I was talking to (Pakistani all-rounder) Shahid Afridi and I said to him that if I can get a start like the one he would get then I would definitely look to get 200 in an ODI," Gayle said.
"If you get a hundred inside 15 overs like him, you can then pace yourself and you will stand a better chance of getting an ODI double. Someone will achieve it some day but it would obviously be a big task. I think that a batsman like Virender Sehwag is also capable of scoring 200 in a one-day game."
Gayle has a highest score of 153 not out in ODIs.
