GIVE CAMERON HIS DUE FOR FIRING UP GAYLE.

So Chris Gayle does it again. Following an extended lean spell the powerfully built Jamaican unleashed a storm-force blast of batting that pummeled Zimbabwe into submission. All kinds of records were broken. The 35-year-old opener became the first non-Indian to score a double century in ODI cricket and the first to do it in a World Cup match. Gayle also tied the record the number of sixes hit in an ODI inning – 16 and he and Marlon Samuel set a world record for the highest partnership – 372 runs – for any wicket in an ODI.

It says a lot that Marlon Samuels scored 133 and nobody is talking about it. Such was the magnificence of Gayle’s accomplishment.

They say every cloud has a silver lining and Gayle’s inning was the silver lining to WICB President Dave Cameron’s cloud. For while the president deservedly took a lot of flak for retweeting a fan’s dismay at Gayle’s lean spell, one cannot deny that it may very well have been the spark the Gayle needed to get going with his broad bat once again.

There is balance in this universe. For every good there is bad, for every up there is a down.

So whether they like it or not, those who chastised Cameron for his unfortunate actions need now to praise him for those same actions.

Gayle had nice words to say after his great performance that have helped put the West Indies back on track. “Oh, I was under so much pressure from the fans who wanted me to score runs.” Yea, right! That’s just for the crowd and an effort to escape further sanction. The real truth, is that he was fired up by what Cameron did and his anger and passion drove him back to being the destroyer we all know him to be.