Windies legends exit World Cup with a smile, legacy secured

Chris Gayle hinted he may have one final international swansong ahead of him but concedes he has played his final World Cup match along with retiring teammate Dwayne Bravo.

Gayle and Bravo were given a guard of honour after the tournament's reigning champions capped a limp defence of their title by slumping to a fourth defeat in five games against Australia in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

Windies captain Kieron Pollard conceded it is an "end of a generation" after Bravo, who will continue to play in domestic leagues, called time on his international career with Gayle expected to follow suit.

But that might not be until after a final match in his home country of Jamaica, the self-proclaimed 'Universe Boss' revealed after the Windies' World Cup came to an end.

"I'd love to play one more World Cup. But I don't think they will allow me," a laughing Gayle told the ICC.

"It's been a phenomenal career. I didn't announce any retirement but they actually give me one game in Jamaica to go in front of my home crowd, then I can say 'Hey guys, thank you so much.'

"Let's see. If not, I'll announce it long time and then I'll be joining DJ Bravo and say thanks to each and everyone but I can't say that as yet."

Bravo, 38, and Gayle, 42, both played in the Windies' two World T20 titles – in 2012 and 2016 – and are currently T20 cricket's all-time leading wicket-taker and run-scorer respectively.

While they have been two of the most in-demand domestic T20 players in recent years, with each having stints in the KFC BBL, their contributions to Test cricket are often overlooked.

Gayle averaged 42.18 and hit 15 centuries (including a triple ton against Sri Lanka in 2010) from 103 Tests while Bravo scored three hundreds and took two five-wicket hauls in 40 Tests.

Both have had their T20I careers extended after Cricket West Indies softened their stance towards players taking part in the Indian Premier League and other overseas T20 leagues, a key factor in getting a host of big-name players back for their 2016 WT20 title.

"My aim was to retire a few years ago, but with a change of presidency and change of leadership comes a change of heart, and I wanted to give back to West Indies because I was still in a good place physically and enjoy my cricket," said Bravo.

Image Id: 093DDB18371D4E9AAA74DB90FA7A8C4C Image Caption: The Windies gave Bravo a guard of honour for his final match // Getty

"I had a brief chat with Pollard and said, would I like to come back and play in the shortest format, which is my specialty. And they gave me the opportunity to play again, and I'm very grateful for that."

Despite scoring just 15 off nine balls, Gayle was the centre of attention in the eight-wicket loss to the Aussies.

The left-hander came out to bat in outrageous sunglasses, tonking two quick sixes before chopping on to Pat Cummins. He soaked up the applause of the crowd and embraced teammates as he made his way off the ground.

Later thrown the ball when Australia's victory was a formality, he got into a light-hearted argument with David Warner about a wide call, had a missed stumping off him before having Mitch Marsh caught at cover.

Gayle ran after Marsh as he walked off the ground and bear hugged him, earning a slight smile from the Western Australian clearly still processing his dismissal.

"I was just having some fun today," he said. "Put everything that happened aside. I was just interacting with the fans in the stand and just having some fun seeing as it's going to be my last World Cup game."

With those two out of the frame for future World Cups, including the next edition of the T20 event in Australia next year, Pollard suggested there could be some changes on the cards for the Windies.

Image Id: 918B93C70D2D45AEA6E3CBD547E4B66A Image Caption: Chris Gayle embraces Mitch Marsh after dismissing the Aussie // Getty

"We have to look the way we play T20 cricket," said Pollard, whose side's low finish at this World Cup means they have missed automatic qualification for the Super 12 stage of the 2022 event and will instead enter in the first round.

"Our team was set up with four power-hitters to do a lot of the damage, but we weren't able to do that.

"What we have seen in these conditions is one guy in the top four tries to bat as long as possible and when you get in you try to stay in as long as possible because it's hard for guys to come in and try to hit (immediately).

"That's one of the things we need to do better. We have to start from the foundations now that's just the reality of the situation … It's end of a generation, of an era."

2021 Men's T20 World Cup

Semi-finals

Nov 10: TBC v TBC, Abu Dhabi (6pm local, 1am Nov 11 AEDT)

Nov 11: TBC v TBC, Dubai (6pm local, 1am Nov 12 AEDT)

Final

Nov 14: TBC v TBC, Dubai (6pm local, 1am Nov 15 AEDT)

All matches live and exclusive on Fox Cricket, available on Kayo Sports.

Click here for the full 2021 ICC T20 World Cup schedule

Click here for the full squads for all 16 teams

How the teams are grouped

Round 1

Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Namibia

Group B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, Oman

Super 12s

Group 1: England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh

Group 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Scotland, Namibia