Sydney, December 28: Western Australia coach Tom Moody has warned his team ”not to rely too heavily” on West Indian skipper Chris Gayle in the domestic Twenty20 competition.
The Warriors will kick off their Big Bash campaign against South Australia at the WACA Ground tomorrow night and while Moody was delighted to secure Gayle’s services, he said the big-hitting West Indian couldn’t be expected to carry the team.
”One player can have an impact but he can’t win a competition on his own,” Moody told AAP.
”It’s going to be 10 other blokes out on the field who are going to have to stand up at different occasions and have an impact.
”We’ve got a side with players who can do that and I’m confident the energy and confidence he’ll bring into the group will go a long way to us having a successful campaign.
”He’s very passionate about the shorter form.
”He’s experienced a lot of it and been successful in it, hence we targeted him early,” he added. Gayle, the only player to have posted a century in a Twenty20 international, claimed he has hit bigger sixes and didn’t discount hitting one out of the ground.
”It’s not a situation where I’ll try and do it but if the situation does occur where you might put a bit more effort in it, definitely you can hit a bigger one,” said Gayle, who boasts an international average of 41.27 in the shortest form of the game.
”It’s not a situation where I was thinking about clearing such a particular obstacle.
”I was just thinking about clearing the rope, but it actually went on the roof. It was just one of those things.
”It would be nice to get a few more in the Big Bash,” he added.
Teams: WA: Adam Voges (capt), David Bandy, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Theo Doropoulos, Chris Gayle, Aaron Heal, Michael Hogan, Brad Knowles, MitchellMarsh, Shaun Marsh, Ashley Noffke, Luke Ronchi (12th man to be named).
SA: Graham Manou (capt), Shahid Afridi, Cameron Borgas, Dan Christian, Mark Cleary, Tom Cooper, Mark Cosgrove, Jake Haberfield, DanielHarris, Aaron O’Brien, Kieron Pollard, Shaun Tait (12th man to be named).
——Agencies