Gayle's redemption song

LONDON, England (CMC):

WEST INDIES captain Chris Gayle is hoping to use the two remaining one-day internationals of the three-match series against England to salvage his otherwise wretched tour of England.

Gayle, the 27-year old aggressive left-hander, has struggled throughout the tour scoring a paltry 220 runs in the four-match Test series and managing just six in the opening ODI at Lord's last Sunday.

"It's been a while that I haven't stepped up to the plate and get the job done as a batter. I have been struggling but as a professional you have to pick yourself up and keep believing," Gayle said yesterday ahead of this morning's (Ja time) second ODI at Edgbaston.

"It's been a while I haven't come up with the goods and I am looking to improve my game, there is always room for improvement. I am always workingon my game, it doesn't matter whether I am scoring runs or not, so I am looking forward to it and hopefully I can lead from the front and try and set the standard for the guys to follow.

"If it doesn't happen I'm sure we have the capabilities in the guys to go out there and get the job done. It is up to them to believe."

Not overly aggressive

Gayle conceded he needed to carry out a better assessment of his innings when batting and also dismissed the notion of being overly aggressive.

"It's all about the mind. It's not going out there and blasting every ball. You have to think about it and assess the situation as quickly as possible and try and take it from there and try to pace yourself and gradually the runs will come. These things, as a batter, you have to take into consideration," Gayle pointed out.

He has come under fire in recent time from the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) after criticising the body for their handling of the captaincy issue and the team's preparation for the ODI tour.

He was subsequently reprimanded by the board after he refused to apologise for his comments.

Gayle admitted that the off-the-field incidents had been challenging but said he had overcome these hurdles.

"I'm only human, it's very hard to be dealing with all these things but I prepared myself for these sorts of things in life," Gayle said.

"I have to go out there and get the job done, it doesn't matter what circumstances may be."