Providence, May 04: West Indies’ captain Chris Gayle bore a relieved smile after his side’s eight-wicket win against England in a rain-affected match but did endorse his counterpart Paul Collingwood’s suggestion that the Duckworth/Lewis system needs adjustments for Twenty20 format.
England posted a daunting 191 for five in 20 overs but after a couple of overs in the West Indies innings, rain came down heavily and the hosts were asked to score a reduced target of 60 from six overs yesterday.
Collingwood admitted that it was a hard loss for his team and was disappointed to end up on the losing side even after England had a very good score top defend.
”I will support what Collingwood has said,” Gayle said here after the win which allowed the West Indies to make it to the super eight stage.
”I could have been in the same position as well. It’s something that can be adjusted so it can be even stevens for both teams,” he noted.
Gayle admitted that he always had his eyes on the rain and that was the reason why he chose to field first after winning the toss.
”We knew that the weather was going to play a part, so the first five overs can determine the game, so we decided to go hard and see what we could get out of the first five overs. ”The target was actually 43 at that particular stage and it actually went in our favour. But after the game was reduced, we were most likely to win the game from there,” added the hard-hitting left-hander. The skipper further acknowledged the work of the England batsmen as they racked up 191 runs and after the end of first innings, it were the visitors who seemed more likely to win.
”Credit must go to the England batters. They set up their innings really well.
”(Eoin) Morgan and Luke Wright batted really well at the top of the order (and) those two openers set them off to a good start. ”It was a good game. It was unfortunate for England to actually lose in this manner.”
——-Agencies