Gayle Proves Renegade with Moody

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Chris Gayle continues to poke fun at January’s incident with television presenter Mel McLaughlin, telling former Australian player and pundit Tom Moody not to blush in an interview during a Pakistan Super League match.

"Cheers Tom. Don’t blush, Tom,” Gayle said after an interview with former Australia player Moody.

Gayle was fined $10,000 by Big Bash League (BBL) franchise Melbourne Renegades and infuriated Cricket Australia officials at the start of the year when he appeared to make several passes at McLauglin during a live TV interview.

'He does it to humiliate': Fox Sports journalist Neroli Meadows unloads on Chris Gayle

The Jamaican slugger earned widespread condemnation for attempting to flirt with Ten Network’s McLaughlin, telling the journalist “Your eyes are beautiful, hopefully we can have a drink”, before quipping “don’t blush baby”.

The Australian journalist appeared visibly upset, and responded “I’m not blushing”, before a wave of online criticism prompted Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland to applaud condemnation of Gayle’s comments.

“I’m pleased to see the public response to say these comments are not acceptable, we certainly echo those thoughts and comments,” he said.

Gayle said later in an apology: “A lot of things have occurred from a simple comment, a joke, a simple joke. It seems it went out of proportion.”

“There wasn’t anything at all meant to be disrespectful to Mel, or offensive.

“If she felt that way, then I am really sorry for that. There wasn’t any harm meant. It was a simple joke.”

Gayle however then teed off at critics in an impassioned and explicit rant on social media once the BBL season finished.

Chris Gayle hits out at 'haters' in Instagram rant

Currently in the United Arab Emirates taking part in Pakistan’s T20 league, Gayle has now revisited the episode unprompted.

After the comment to Moody, the West Indies star retweeted a supporter who invites his current Pakistan Super League employers to also fine the batsman.

It has recently been confirmed that Somerset will invite Gayle to play for them in the T20 Blast.

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Renegade Gayle Ends Bash with Rant

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Chris Gayle has come out swinging in a long social media rant following the end of a controversial stint in the Big Bash League.

Gayle’s season with the Melbourne Renegades was embroiled in controversy surrounding his sideline interview with television reporter Mel McLaughlin.

The 36-year-old was fined $10,000 by the Renegades for his interview with McLaughlin, which he described as a “simple joke” but Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland deemed “completely out of line”.

During a 4 January match, Gayle asked McLaughlin if she wanted to go out for a drink before adding “don’t blush baby”.

On Tuesday, the powerful Jamaican fired a parting shot in an Instagram post aimed at “the haters” and those who failed to publicly defend him.

Former England Test player and BBL commentator Andrew Flintoff said Gayle had made himself “look like a bit of a chop” in a tweet following the interview with McLaughlin.

'He does it to humiliate': Fox Sports journalist Neroli Meadows unloads on Chris Gayle

Former Australian Test opener Chris Rogers said Gayle had set a bad example for the Sydney Thunder’s young players when the pair both played with the franchise, while allrounder Shane Watson said he expected the behaviour.

The West Indian ended his stint with the Renegades on Monday night when he equalled the world record for the fastest Twenty20 half-century, reaching the milestone from just 12 balls against the Adelaide Strikers.

In a video and audio media release issued by the Renegades on Tuesday, Gayle said he wanted to return to play again in the BBL.

“Definitely – I have always got a soft spot for Australia. And the fans here have been very supportive. They have been really, really tremendous,” he said.

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Windies Chris Faces Another Gayle

West Indian cricketer Chris Gayle, who on Tuesday half heartedly apologised and was fined for inappropriate remarks he made to a female TV interviewer, is now facing accusations he exposed himself to another woman.

The big-hitting left-hander received an angry backlash for his comments and was branded “disrespectful and simply inappropriate” after he asked journalist Mel McLaughlin for a drink in a live television interview during a Big Bash League clash in Australia.

He said to her: “I wanted to see your eyes for the first time, hopefully we can win this game and then we can have a drink after as well. Don’t blush, baby.”

Gayle, 36, offered a half-hearted apology to McLaughlin, saying his remarks were meant as a light-hearted joke. However, the BBL took a dim view of his comments and fined him £5,000.

Now it has been alleged that he exposed himself to a female member of staff attached to the West Indies squad during last year’s World Cup in Sydney.

The Sydney Morning Herald claims that the woman went into the West Indies dressing room, believing it was empty, as she looked for a sandwich. She encountered Gayle and another player, and the former West Indies captain reportedly allowed his towel to drop, revealing his genitals, before saying: “Are you looking for this?”

She complained to the West Indies management, who have so far declined to comment.

Gayle’s own management team have also not yet given a comment.

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Windies Bashed by Lyon and O'Keefe

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Australian spinners Nathan Lyon and Stephen O’Keefe took key wickets between the Sydney downpour to peg West Indies back to 207-6 at the end of a weather-disrupted opening day of the dead rubber third Test on Sunday.

More than two hours and 45 minutes of play were lost to rain in a stop-start day at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), where the tourists fell away in the early evening gloom after winning the toss and making a solid start. Denesh Ramdin, unbeaten on 23, and Carlos Brathwaite (35 not out) will resume on day two, weather permitting.

The hosts had rolled the dice on the twin spin attack at the SCG for the first time in a decade and got their reward when Lyon and O’Keefe got plenty of turn off a straw-coloured wicket. Off-spinner Lyon (2-68) produced a stunning delivery that pitched wide and turned in to take the bail off Jermaine Blackwood’s off stump for 10 and returned after the second rain break to remove danger man Kraigg Brathwaite for 85.

Left-arm orthodox spinner O’Keefe (1-42) then pitched in to have West Indies captain Jason Holder caught superbly at short leg by Joe Burns and claim his first test wicket on Australian soil. Trailing 2-0 in the three-match series after thumping defeats in Hobart and Melbourne, West Indies had started the day by building on their improved batting performance in the second Test.

After the early loss of opener Shai Hope (nine), Kraigg Brathwaite and Darren Bravo (33) looked in fine nick as they ushered the tourists to lunch at 92 for one. Australia’s bowlers emerged from the break re-energised, however, and James Pattinson got the breakthrough when Bravo’s miscued pull sent the ball flying to Usman Khawaja running in from the deep.

That broke a 91-run partnership and brought Marlon Samuels to the crease looking to break his run of eight test innings without getting to the 20-run mark. He failed in farcical fashion looking for a quick single that always looked like a gamble, left stranded when Brathwaite scuttled back to his crease as Peter Nevill broke the stumps.

After a long glare at his partner, Samuels headed back to the pavilion with four runs to his name and the rest of the players and umpires followed in his wake as heavy rain came down on the ground. Kraigg Brathwaite had brought up his eighth test half-century just before lunch by clipping all-rounder Mitchell Marsh past long leg for two runs off the 78th ball he faced.

He fell 15 runs shy off his fifth test century when Lyon got a little bit of extra bounce to a delivery which caught the opener’s glove and was snaffled up by Steve Smith at slip. “I think the spinners bowled well, it is just about trusting your defence and backing your shots and you can score,” said Brathwaite after play. “(But) on a first day pitch that spins like that, once we get a score above 300, we put ourselves in a good position.”

For Brathwaite and his teammates the SCG pitch had presented its challenges. “It’s good fun to bowl on for spinners,” spinner Nathan Lyon said after claiming his 100th test wicket in Australia. “It’s a big challenge for me, it’s spinning pretty big and it’s got decent bounce. So it’s a challenge for me to try and hit the stumps. I’m enjoying that challenge right now.”

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