Chris Gayle continued to dominate the build-up to the World Cup quarter-final between New Zealand and West Indies when captain Jason Holder said a decision on his fitness would be delayed until Saturday.
The opening batsman’s lingering back injury flared up in the latter stages of the first round, forcing him to miss West Indies’ final game against United Arab Emirates, and he had not appeared at training in Wellington all week.
The 35-year-old finally took some throwdowns at the Basin Reserve on Friday and batted in the nets after having undergone a scan and pain-killing injection earlier this week.
“The scan didn’t show anything major so we’ll just see how he pulls up today and make a decision tomorrow morning,” Holder told reporters on Friday.
“We have to give him time. Obviously we’ll see how he goes at practice today.”
Holder refused to be drawn on whether Gayle would play although he said his batting would boost West Indies at the Wellington Regional Stadium on Saturday.
“Chris’ stats speak for themselves. He’s one of the most feared batsmen in world cricketso to have Chris in my squad is a plus for anybody,” said the skipper.
“To have him there, just his presence alone is felt. I just hope he can perform the way he’s been known to perform and we get the best out of him.”
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World Cup 2015 Quarterfinal New Zealand v/s West Indies: Gayle trains for first time ahead of match
