Chris Gayle can find the boundary with a bat but off the field there’s not one in sight

CHRIS Gayle has no trouble finding the boundary when he bats but away from the crease there’s not a boundary in sight, writes Robert Craddock.

HOBART, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 04: Chris Gayle of the Melbourne Renegades gives a TV interview to Mel Mclaughlin during the Big Bash League match between the Hobart Hurricanes and the Melbourne Renegades at Blundstone Arena on January 4, 2016 in Hobart, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

CHRIS Gayle has no trouble finding the boundary when he bats but away from the crease there’s not a boundary in sight.

And that’s one of the key issues in his reckless, flaunt-gone-wrong with Channel 10’s Mel McLaughlin.

There was plenty of people making excuses for Gayle and agreeing with his sentiment that he was only joking and that the banter was all part of the froth and frivolity of the Big Bash.

That’s letting him off far too lightly.

It was poor form from a player who should have known better — not that he cares that much what the world thinks of him which is also part of the problem.

Gayle these days floats around the world as a cricketing butterfly, stopping wherever he can earn some spare cash in Twenty20 competitions.

At last count there were 14 T20 teams he has played for from Zimbabwe to Perth.

The quintessential hired hand, he drifts in, goes biff, bang whack for a few weeks, pockets the cash and moves on without any deep connection to the team he is playing for or to life in that region.

It’s an abnormal life where players can often get rich, reckless, lazy and laws-to-themselves.

They don’t fear consequences much because in a week or two they won’t be around to face them.

Who cares if one franchise goes cold on you? There will always be another.

The most significant comment on this issue came from former Sydney Thunder captain Chris Rogers who reportedly was driven to wits end by Gayle during his hot and cold streak at the Thunder in which the team simply fell apart as Gayle blissfully lived life on his own terms and took a few of the young players with him.

“The reason I think he hasn’t played in the BBL for a while is because that was said: ‘Stay away from Chris Gayle because he’s brings more trouble than he’s worth’,’’ Rogers said on ABC radio.

“This is a pattern of behaviour that if you know the guy you see it over and over. To defend it, I think is not right at all. I don’t see it as funny at all. He says it’s just a joke. Well, it’s not just a joke is it?

“His apology, he’s basically saying if she feels bad about it, well I’m sorry about that.

“I’d be the first one to admit that there have been times when I’ve let myself down with my behaviour, but you grow up and you make better decisions and he needs to start making better decisions.”

Chris Gayle has been hot and cold in his BBL career. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

But that’s the thing. In the modern cricket world there are no rules that says a player, if he is good enough, has to grow up if he doesn’t want to.

Twenty20 journeymen can go a few different ways. Their wide travels and constantly changing environments can make them wise, mature souls.

Or, like Gayle, they can stay in the cricket bubble and never really grow up because they never really have to.

Context is everything in flattering remarks to the opposite sex.

Legendary horse trainer Bart Cummings was once quoted as saying to rider Michelle Payne “you are getting prettier every year’’ but when you are 80 that is considered the sweet compliment it was meant to be.

But Gayle’s problem is that he is a self-confessed party boy.

When you announce to the world on Twitter that you have a stripper’s pole put in your bedroom and take pictures of the new mirror you have put on the ceiling you don’t get away with much.

Any advance from him is seen for what it often is ... an advance.

That’s why reporters such as Fox Sport Neroli Meadows claimed she found him creepy to deal with.

Gayle is living life on his own terms and is having the time of his life as well.

But he should not be surprised whether other people have different rules and find his conduct tasteless and offensive.