Cricket World Cup: Chris Gayle storm hits Sydney, ICC cracks down on batsman dominance

CHRIS Gayle gives an insight into his crazy lifestyle while in Sydney, the ICC admits batsmen have it easy, and we relive the greatest cricket ad ever.

Don’t you wish you were Chris Gayle?

EVER wondered what it’s like to be cricket’s biggest character?

Wonder no more as we present you with a snapshot of Chris Gayle’s life after the West Indies superstar touched down in Sydney to prepare for the World Cup.

This week’s Cup Countdown also sees the boss of the International Cricket Council admitting the game favours batsmen too much, injury woes across the globe, and a look back at one of the best sports advertisements of all time.

CRICKET WORLD CUP INTERACTIVE DRAW

WELCOME TO THE WILD WORLD OF CHRIS GAYLE

The coolest cat in cricket arrived on our shores recently and he made sure everyone knew about it by documenting his every move on social media.

Before leaving Jamaica Gayle got his hair done and had a drink at the airport, before making a beeline for Stadium Australia shortly after touching down, cheering on the Socceroos as they triumphed in the Asian Cup final, taking in the sights of Darling Harbour and Bondi Beach and, of course, the inside of some nightclubs.

Getting a make over...fresh look. pic.twitter.com/b99DH2s7CG

— Chris Gayle (@henrygayle) January 27, 2015

@henrygayle @johnkot23 pic.twitter.com/p1ZmXo79dq

— Gerasimos (@gezza1974) February 1, 2015

Game Over!!! Oi Oi .. Lol. Don't think I can mange this after party.. Player down!! pic.twitter.com/sirCxzdJzm

— Chris Gayle (@henrygayle) January 31, 2015

Oh, and it turns out he’s pretty handy at tenpin bowling.

ICC ADMITS BATSMEN HAVE UNFAIR ADVANTAGE

The ICC has finally admitted what everyone already knew – one-day cricket favours batsmen far too much.

With the record for the fastest century falling twice in two months and a myriad of other groundbreaking batting feats achieved on an almost-weekly basis, complaints from bowlers were reaching fever pitch.

It wasn’t just the bowlers who were complaining either, with some fans tiring of the constant one-sidedness seen in battles between ball and bat.

Now ICC chief executive Dave Richardson has revealed that cricket’s governing body is aware of the issue and is looking at ways to even the scales, starting with one of the biggest complaints – that bats are simply too big.

David Warner’s bat has arguably the thickest edges in world cricket. Picture: Gregg Porteous

“The bats are so good these days that the sweet spot is much larger than it would have been 10-15 years ago,” Richardson told Cricinfo.

“The MCC, as law makers, and the ICC will be looking at giving perhaps some consideration to placing limitations on the depth of a bat in particular.

“Where some batsmen are mis-hitting balls and it is just carrying over the rope and going for a six instead of being caught at the boundary, that is what some cricket people believe has become unfair.”

Another ‘unfair’ move constantly pulled by groundsmen (or is it by administrators?) across the world is inexplicably moving boundary ropes further and further away from the fence.

Richardson revealed that, starting at the World Cup, boundary ropes will be moved back as far as possible.

“What we have done up until now is try and maximise the size of the boundary,” Richardson said.

“You will see for the World Cup, most of the grounds in Australia in particular, which allow for big playing surfaces, boundary ropes will be pushed back to at least 90 yards where possible.”

CRICKET KARAOKE

Football’s World Cup is preceded by a glut of advertisements featuring the game’s stars doing all sorts of silly things in the name of selling a product.

Cricket is a bit behind in this regard, so we thought we’d even the ledger by replaying this absolute gold piece of advertising from the 2011 IPL.

A karaoke session featuring Shane Warne, Rauhl Dravid, Kumar Sangakkara, David Warner, Virender Sehwag and AB de Villiers – need we say more?

WORLD CUP TO OPEN WITH A BANG

Speaking of singing, there will be plenty of that at the official World Cup opening event in Melbourne next Thursday.

Aussie musicians Jessica Mauboy, Tina Arena and Daryl Braithwaite will star in a concert at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, which will also feature a symbolic World Cup moment – whatever that might be.

Australian singer songwriter Jessica Mauboy with the World Cup trophy. Picture: Andrew Henshaw.

ANOTHER BIG BLOW FOR PAKISTAN

Things are going from bad to worse for Pakistan.

Just a few weeks after star bowler Saeed Ajmal ruled himself out of the World Cup as he struggled to rework his bowling action following his ICC-enforced ban, key paceman Junaid Khan has withdrawn from the tournament after succumbing to a knee injury.

Khan originally suffered the injury in October and did enough on his return to action two months later to convince selectors he was ready for the rigorous demands of a six-week tournament.

But less than two weeks out from Pakistan’s blockbuster against India on February 15, Khan was forced to admit his World Cup dream was over.

Pakistan’s Junaid Khan will miss out on the 2015 World Cup.

INJURY WOES ALL OVER THE WORLD

In case you’ve been living under a rock recently, here’s the latest update on the fitness battles facing Michael Clarke and James Faulkner.

The crisis-hit Indian squad also has a few injury worries of its own, with star opener Rohit Sharma sitting out all but one of India’s tri-series matches with a hamstring injury.

Sharma will be joined by no less than three teammates – Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja – in undergoing fitness tests on February 7, a day before India plays a warm-up match against Australia in Adelaide.

According to news site PTI, whoever passes that fitness test will then play against Australia the following day.

Originally published as Cricket World Cup: Chris Gayle storm hits Sydney, ICC cracks down on batsman dominance