Windies warm to brash T20 style

Hands thrust deep in pockets and cursing their bosses through chattering teeth for agreeing to a Test series in chilly England, the World Twenty20 can't have come quick enough for the West Indies.

When WI captain Chris Gayle, who thrives on packed houses and warm weather cricket, surveyed the rows and rows of empty seats at Chester-Le-Street as his team suffered a second Test drubbing, his thoughts would have drifted back to the IPL.

Had not the West Indies Cricket Board stepped in to fill the Test gap left by Zimbabwe and then Sri Lanka, Gayle as well as other teammates would have been raking in serious cash in the IPL in South Africa.

The Skipper made it clear which aspect of the game he preferred when he arrived in England two days before the first Test having played for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening part of the IPL extravganza.

"Everyone knew this would happen," he said. "Maybe there should be a window for the IPL when all players should be available so everybody can get the chance to play against the best, like the World Cup."

The West Indian players, or at least some of them, are regularly at loggerheads with the WICB over financial rewards, although many have already reaped the benefits of Twenty20.

They came out on top in the unlamented Stanford Super Series last year when players became instant millionaires.

Their record on the international front has mirrored their unpredictable talents.

At the 2007 World Twenty20, Gayle smashed 117 in the game against hosts South Africa, and shared a record opening stand of 145 with Devon Smith, but still they lost.

They were then humiliated by Bangladesh by six wickets and failed to reached the Super Eights second round.

In all, the West Indies have won four of their 11 T20 internationals and will face a tough task to make the Super Eights in the 2009 event having been placed in Group D with Australia and Sri Lanka.

Their 15-man squad saw big-hitting Xavier Marshall recalled but Devon Smith misses out.

There are plenty of potential big run-makers in the West Indies line-up.

However, it's their ability of their wayward bowlers to keep a tight leash on opposing batsmen which will concern coach John Dyson.

In the second Test against England, the Caribbean side conceded 61 extras, 28 of them no-balls with frontline Fast bowler Fidel Edwards the worst culprit with 22 no-balls.