News

Gayle sends Benn from the field

Sulieman Benn has riled opponents and match referees in the past, but he has hit a new low after being asked to leave the field by his captain Chris Gayle

Cricinfo staff
31-May-2010
Happier times: Chris Gayle wasn't pleased with his spinner Sulieman Benn in the fourth ODI  •  Associated Press

Happier times: Chris Gayle wasn't pleased with his spinner Sulieman Benn in the fourth ODI  •  Associated Press

Sulieman Benn has riled opponents and match referees in the past, but he has hit a new low after being ordered off the field by his captain Chris Gayle. During West Indies' seven-wicket loss to South Africa in Dominica, Benn upset Gayle so much by failing to follow instructions that he was told he was no longer required.
"I actually asked him to leave the field,' Gayle told reporters after the game. "As a captain, it was a situation like you ask a particular bowler to do it and he said he had never done certain things before. That's why you have practice sessions, to practise. I asked him to simply bowl over the wicket. I don't see why it should be a problem.
"He wasn't up for it and if you're not up for it, why give that particular bowler the ball. I just see it that he [Benn] doesn't want to take part. It was my call to actually ask him to leave and tell him that he is not needed anymore."
Benn's behavioural issues came to a head during the Perth Test in December, when he was suspended for two ODIs following a clash with Mitchell Johnson and Brad Haddin. He had previously been fined and forced to have counselling after what was labelled "insubordinate" behaviour during a West Indies A tour of England in 2002.
His fiery nature has also been on display at club level, when he was fined after an altercation with an opponent while batting for his Barbados club Spartan. It is unclear whether Benn will play any part in the fifth and final ODI against South Africa in Trinidad on Thursday.
The fourth ODI had a dramatic finish with Dwayne Bravo bowling three consecutive dot balls in the final over, leaving South Africa with one to get off the last delivery. AB de Villiers then played the ball to midwicket and sprinted the single as Darren Sammy fumbled. Gayle praised Bravo for his bowling effort but said that, despite making 303, West Indies should have scored a lot more.
"Credit must go to Bravo for the way he bowled the final over," Gayle said. "But to get 300 runs, and lose was not good. We should have scored at least 30 or 40 more runs based on the start that Dale [Richards] and I gave the team, but we were very disappointing in the middle overs again, too many dot balls. We also missed a few catches, and this is the inconsistency. At times, we do well with the bat, and then turn up and do something completely different with the ball."