Cricket: Gayle's exile from Windies may soon be over

Chris Gayle. Photo / Getty Images

The dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and exiled opener Chris Gayle could be at an end if a meeting in St Vincent proves fruitful.

Gayle, who hasn't played international cricket after criticising the board and coach Ottis Gibson following last year's World Cup, was in the stands at the Arnos Vale Ground over the weekend as the West Indies secured a series-levelling five-wicket one-day win over Australia.

During the match, rumours emerged Gayle and the WICB had resolved their long-standing disagreement and the 32-year-old would once again be available for selection for the West Indies.

The Jamaica Gleaner newspaper said Gayle would be meeting board members and representatives of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) in St Vincent to either retract his comments or submit an apology.

"A meeting has been arranged for tomorrow morning between Gayle, the WICB and a few heads of government in a bid to arrive at an amicable solution that could result in Gayle returning to the team," Jamaica Cricket Association secretary Fritz Harris was quoted as saying.

"As we are all aware, there have been efforts to have the matter resolved in recent weeks ... I suspect that this meeting is a sort of culmination of the efforts."

If an amicable resolution is achieved, Gayle could come back for the West Indies as soon as the fourth and fifth one-dayers against Australia in St Lucia.

The home team's squad for those two matches will be named during the third match in St Vincent.

Australian captain Shane Watson said his team would be prepared if Gayle returns.

"We've got to be," Watson said. "I've played a lot of cricket against Chris and you always want to play against the best players."

- AAP