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Gayle’s court case a bad look for cricket

Chris Gayle. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
Roar Guru
30th October, 2017
22

The law gave him a right to clear his name, but Chris Gayle’s defamation case in Sydney couldn’t have come at a worse time for cricket.

On the back of the Ben Stokes’ late night street fight and the not-yet-forgotten pay dispute, cricket is suffering a bit of a public relations nightmare at the moment. Then comes Chris Gayle’s defamation court case round the corner, like a first over barrage of sixes.

The articles published by Fairfax Media last year, documenting Gayle allegedly exposing his genitals to massage therapist Leanne Russell at the 2015 World Cup, were nothing short of a bombshell.

Gayle thinks they caused damage to his reputation, so he had a right to sue for defamation. In the end, he was vindicated by the jury.

But the hearing, which took over a week, turned up some negative headlines. First we had “Masseuse says Chris Gayle exposed himself in ‘horrific’ incident,” then came “Gayle’s teammate ‘sent sexy text to masseuse before alleged incident’” and then – to top it all off – “Gayle’s attorney says masseuse ‘plainly neurotic.’”

Even if Gayle was proven right in this case, these headlines won’t be forgotten so quickly, especially with damages still due to be awarded and a possible appeal expected. Add to that: Australian cricket’s new summer hit, the Big Bash – a product still strongly linked to Gayle – is just months away.

Gayle didn’t play for the Melbourne Renegades last season after he was delisted, but the big-hitting West Indian was one of the Big Bash’s early pioneers and was a major part of the competition’s success.

His ‘don’t blush baby’ comments – rightly or wrongly – helped put the competition on the map. He still harbours ambitions to play in the tournament again.

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None of these most recent headlines are what that competition needs occupying the crease at the moment though. More than any other cricket ‘product’ in Australia, the Big Bash is set up to win over new fans – including families, young kids, wives and girlfriends.

For these reasons and others, this court case must have caused serious headaches at Cricket Australia headquarters. The fact that it landed right in the middle of the Women’s Ashes, a series that Cricket Australia is rightfully working hard to promote – was also far from ideal.

With the 38-year-old still reportedly keen to get a Big Bash contract this season, it’s understandable that he wants to clear his name in Australia, a country he says he still holds dearly. But, his chances could well be hurt by this court case, rather than helped, just because of the stigma.

Even if he does get picked up by a club for one more season, the damage may have already been done. Gayle’s heavy hitting this time around was, as always, highly destructive.

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