Andrew Alderson: Cricket's Mr Cool in white hot form

Chris Gayle smashed a marvellous 102 against Australia in Perth. Photo / Getty Images

Opinion

"Chris Gayle is just so damn cool," exclaimed our newspaper designer Rob Cox as we brewed our respective cups of tea in the kitchen, the centre for many a sporting debate.

"Why?" was my instinctive response. Sadly the inner journalist is never dormant, even in moments of casual conversation as you add a dab of milk.

We'd both seen Gayle blast away at will against the Australians the previous evening, scoring the fifth fastest test century in history - off 70 balls and reached with a six off Australian spinner Nathan Hauritz at Perth's WACA.

"Well, I think it's because he's cricket's gangsta (Rob said it as if it ended in an 'a'). He doesn't get excited when he smacks a six. Then he's just taking it easy in the field with his sunglasses on before coming in to bowl the laziest deliveries I've ever seen in my life. Just Sunday village stuff. Yet he makes a massive difference to West Indies cricket. My wife even walks past the telly, pauses all too casually, and says 'who's that guy?' He's the Samuel L Jackson of the cricketing world."

That is the enigma of Gayle. A quick straw poll of cricket and not-so-cricket minded individuals confirmed my suspicions of his divisiveness:"The best looking man in all of sport."

"He's too much of a Mr Cool Dude for me - but he can hold a bat."

"Tell me where he is and I'll be there.""In some ways he's bad for West Indies Cricket because he's out to make a mint but the team would fail without him."

Gayle elicits a mixed response of envy, annoyance and respect. Most would say that's part of his charm. It's hard to gauge what's going on behind those eyes, especially if they're covered by sunglasses, as they were last year at the Auckland Cricket Society bar when he was attending a post-match function following a three-day warm-up match.

The envy comes from the fact that here's a guy with extraordinary natural ability who can rip apart attacks, seemingly at will.

Just ask Australian debutant Clint McKay, whose first ball on the supposed fast bowler's paradise disappeared through cover point to the fence.

Seeing the likes of Gayle in action can be chastening for mere mortals who soldier around the crease in club cricket for 12 off 12 overs most Saturdays.

Gayle is annoying to the purist despite his incredible innings, which saw one ball disappear a distance of about 110 metres onto the top of the Lillee-Marsh Stand. That's because it appears he has little regard for tests.

His comments earlier in the year reflected that when he said, after the Twenty20 IPL, he would "not be so sad" if the longest form of the game died out. Those thoughts came after he'd flown in just 48 hours before the test at Lord's against England. The match was lost in three days with Gayle looking uninterested.

But then perhaps Gayle has a point. Who wouldn't be keen to grab the coin that he's had offered as an alternative - US$800,000 with Kolkata and Allen Stanford's once-were-millions in the US$20 million match last November?

Ironically this year he has prospered in tests with 949 runs at an average of 59.31, including five centuries.

He demands respect. Dennis Lillee was awed at seeing his countrymen belted around the ground, partly because of his role as Western Australian Cricket Association president.

They've signed Gayle for the national Twenty20 Big Bash starting later this month.

Gayle deserves kudos for blasting the Australian bowling. Here was a side who'd spent the better part of two days in the field, having 520 for seven racked up against them.

It was the ultimate counter-attack on the likes of Mitchell Johnson, Doug Bollinger, McKay and Hauritz, who had a definite spring in their steps, such is the insurance 500-plus runs provides.

Gayle also made it clear to his opposition and team-mates that they would refuse to bow to intimidation after a niggly afternoon which saw Sulieman Benn, Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson hauled before the match referee for alleged aggressive on-field indiscretions.

The reality is, in contrast to purist sentiments, cricket needs more like Gayle. Certainly he mightn't conform to the game as it's laid out by the MCC but diversity has its benefits.

He is one of the key reasons a core group of the public is drawn in, compared to the more diehard minority fan who is more tolerant of openers leaving over after over outside off stump in a battle of attrition.