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World Twenty20 2009
Injured Gayle unlikely against Sri Lanka
George Binoy in Nottingham
June 10, 2009
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Despite being hit on the knee by Mitchell Johnson, Chris Gayle went on to score 88 off 50 balls © Getty Images
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Player/Officials: Chris Gayle
Series/Tournaments: ICC World Twenty20
Teams: West Indies
The West Indies captain Chris Gayle is carrying an injury after being struck near the knee by Mitchell Johnson and is an uncertain starter for their final group game against Sri Lanka at Trent Bridge on Wednesday. Gayle said he would bat during the team's practice session at Lady Bay and decide on his participation afterwards.
Gayle almost single-handedly led West Indies to victory against Australia at The Oval on June 6 but was struck on the outside of his right leg, near the knee, in Johnson's third over. He hobbled across for a single but then sat on the ground in visible discomfort before carrying on to score 88 off 50 balls.
"I'm carrying a bit of an injury so I don't know if I'm playing [against Sri Lanka]," Gayle said. "After batting [against Australia] I didn't feel it, but the next day I couldn't walk properly. It had swollen and bruised a lot. I'm trying to get back into stride."
Gayle had not batted during West Indies' training session yesterday and today he did not bowl or field. However, he batted for a short while and, although he wasn't able to move his feet smoothly, he still managed to hit the ball powerfully. If the injury improves by tomorrow afternoon it is likely that Gayle will take the field because he emphasised the importance of beating Sri Lanka to keep the momentum going.
If Gayle is forced to rest, though, it won't upset West Indies too much because both they and Sri Lanka have qualified for the Super Eights from group C by beating Australia. West Indies will be pooled with India, England and South Africa in the next round.
George Binoy is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo
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