A gale blows through the Windies!

It probably comes as no surpise that the Windies lost their 2nd consecutive test match in the UK by an innings earlier today when only last week their captain, Chris Gayle, was reported to have said that he wanted to focus on the short form of the game, ie limited overs, having just flown back from the 20:20 IPL in South Africa.

Gayle claims that he was misquoted but the impact of the publicity surrounding his alleged statements probably did as much harm to the Windies' cause as did the inclement and cold weather at Durham. Whilst the weather conditions clearly favoured the home side it was disappointing to see through their body language how indifferent most of the Windies' team were especially since they had battled manfully in the Caribbean to win the Wisden Trophy.

In such conditions it can hardly have helped their cause to have doubts about their captain's commitment to test cricket. It is essential that the leader of any team sends out positive vibes, especially in challenging circumstances, and does not allow negative feelings or doubts to surface which will deflect the team from their primary goal.