Cheers To Cramps

Both Shiv (Chanderpaul) and Chris (Gayle) played well but Chris was particularly exceptional. Getting his 15th one-day hundred in our victory over South Africa in the semi-final at Jaipur was nothing less than a great achievement. He is the one who sets up games for us so it’s very important for him to continue doing this. It’s his hard work which is paying off for him and the team now. Chris has also matured from when he started and I think he is at the age when you really start to mature and start to work things out for yourself. I think that is what is happening now. It’s really good to see and I’m sure he is going to continue with that sort of form, taking it into the final and into Pakistan as well.

Regardless of what happens on Sunday I expect him to be named Man-of-the-Series and, once this is confirmed, it is going to be a great achievement for him. He thoroughly deserves it. Obviously he bowls as well, stifling batsmen when they are looking to score not to mentioning getting vital wickets at vital moments in the game. It shows how valuable he is to this team, not only as a batsman but as a bowler as well. I think he has the ability to evolve into one of the greatest allrounders in the game.

On a more personal note I’ve known Chris since I was 16 when we played youth cricket together. We practically grew up together, along with Corey (Collymore) and Wavell (Hinds). Cricket aside, the most important thing about Chris is that he is very funny; a lot of people do not know that because they only tend to judge him from what they see on the cricket field, being cool and calm. People might think because of that he does not care much but he is fully committed to West Indies cricket. I think if you want someone to liven up a dressing room there is no better person than Christopher ‘Cramps’ Gayle.

The South Africa win was an outstanding victory for us. It really showed that we are getting better as a team. We have beaten most of the top ranked teams in the past six to eight months and I think that is a really good sign for us leading up to the World Cup. We need to continue working harder and continue improving. There is a lot of room for improvement and I am sure we will continue to do that. The win against South Africa definitely proved that we are an improving unit.

The final against Australia on Sunday at the Brabourne Stadium is going to be extra special to us because we are the first team to be playing back-to-back finals in the Champions Trophy. Australia are going to be very hungry as well because it is their first Champions Trophy final so it is going to be a great battle. Taking into consideration what happened the last time we played against them they will be coming with blood in their eyes and we are really looking forward to that challenge.