West Indies sweat over Chris Gayle’s fitness after hamstring uneasiness

West Indies are sweating over the fitness and availability of their star batsman Chris Gayle for the rest of the limited overs series in England. The Jamaican was withdrawn from the XI minutes before the toss as he felt uneasiness in his hamstring ahead of the second ODI at Nottingham.

Gayle felt discomfort in his hamstring while warming up for the game which was eventually abandoned due to incessant rains after just 2.2 overs of play. He was replaced by Kyle Hope and later went to a Nottingham hospital to undergo a scan in order to find out the exact nature of the injury. Skipper Jason Holder hoped that it is not a serious injury and the opening batsman will be available for the rest of the series.

“Chris Gayle came to me before the toss and said he was feeling something in his hamstring,” West Indies captain Jason Holder told BBC Radio’s Test Match Special after he sent England into bat. “Hopefully it’s not something too serious and it’s a precaution. He came to me as I was walking up to the coin so I don’t know the extent of the injury,” the all-rounder added.

Bright starts in both games for Gayle

Gayle played in an ODI after spending over two years out of the side. In his comeback, he blazed to a quick-fire 37 before holing out in the 9th over. The southpaw also took part in the lone T20 and made a typical 20-ball 41 which included 4 maximums. The visiting side eventually won the encounter by 21 runs but failed to carry the momentum into the ODI series.

The loss in the first ODI means that West Indies no longer qualify directly for the 2019 World Cup and will have to go through the qualifying tournament in a bid to seal a World Cup berth.

Both teams will now travel to Bristol, the venue for the third ODI which will kick off on Sunday.