Chris Gayle - file photos

Despite being often clumsy in their approach to administration and guilty of making numerous blunders in the past, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) are absolutely spot on with their decision to leave talismanic batsman Chris Gayle out of the regional set-up until an apology is furnished.

In fact, after again hearing and reading excerpts from the now infamous radio interview, it mystifies me as to just how anyone could think otherwise.

All teams, very good ones, average ones and even very bad ones, in our current case, will have internal issues and while one may often disagree with the way things are handled, the very least a player should do, or be responsible enough to do, is to show respect for the structure of which he is a part.

In this instance, whether Gayle raised a few pertinent issues or not (and some of them were) is quite besides the point. The main issue here is that the tone, avenue and manner that he expressed himself in were quite wrong and even his most ardent supporters, if they are honest, should accept that.

Gayle is a talented player and quite possibly one of the best that the region has produced, but any day that a team is willing to sacrifice discipline and respect for talent, it will almost always prove to be a recipe for disaster. In fact, it may even be said that the WICB has been guilty of doing just that in the past and if the stance on Gayle is an attempt to correct such past mistakes, they deserve 100 per cent of the region's support.

One famous example

It is not unusual in any sport for a player that speaks out of turn or displays traits thought to be detrimental to the squad to not be selected, talent withstanding. One famous example, of course, being Walter Boyd initially being left out of the World Cup squad by technical director René Simoes in 1998 and there are a host of countless others.

Should we be content to fight a battle on Gayle's behalf even if he is in the wrong. Perhaps our support for the player in this instance is a blind allegiance to all things Jamaica, a sort of nationalism on steroids coupled with a demonisation of the WICB board?

It is difficult to see how the Honourable Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller could have been aware of some of the comments made by Gayle and still believe that 'justice' was being delayed or denied in this issue.

While there are many other issues, including the player said to want the issuance of a non-conditional No Objection Certificate, what kind of message would the WICB send to coach Otis Gibson and future players were he, without remorse, to be admitted back into the squad after all such a broadside?

Last time I checked there was no player with a God-given right to represent the nation or the region.

COMMMENTARY

'Gayle is a talented player and quite possibly one of the best that the region has produced, but any day that a team is willing to sacrifice discipline and respect for talent, it will almost always prove to be a recipe for disaster.'

Please send feedback to sports@gleanerjm.com

Or hit us up on Twitter @StarSportsJM

Responses will be carried in next Friday's publication

We look forward to hearing from you!