Cricket Australia open to Chris Gayle returning for Big Bash

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland insists controversial West Indies opener Chris Gayle won't be prevented from signing with a Big Bash franchise.

Gayle caused outrage in January following his infamous "don't blush, baby" boundary-line interview with Mel McLaughlin during his spell with the Melbourne Renegades.

But despite the bad publicity surrounding the incident, Sutherland appears to have back-tracked after Cricket Australia strongly intimated at the time that it would come over the top of any team that tried to sign Gayle for Big Bash 6.

A big deal was made over a joke

That's because even though they made a big song and dance about what Gayle did, they know themselves that they went to far. They also know that the big bash needs the big names, and like it or not, Gayle is one of the biggest there is out there.

Daniel Brettig wrote an article last night suggesting that Gayle's return to the BBL is less than a sure thing.

Quote:[T]here is believed to be minimal interest among BBL clubs in contracting Gayle, for reasons including the negative effect of his actions last summer but also cultural and tactical reasons. Gayle was not a prominent on-field contributor in a struggling Renegades side last season until his fifty in his final innings of the tournament.

Stronger displays for West Indies in the World Twenty20 and the IPL have raised speculation about his return, but Gayle would have to accept considerably-reduced financial terms even if one of the clubs decides he is worth picking. If they do, Sutherland's earlier remarks - and wide reporting that CA had decided there is no place for Gayle in the BBL - will ring hollow.

After reading Brettig's column, I decided to look up Gayle's numbers for last years BBL, and to be honest, they don't jive with Gayle failing to be a prominent on-field contributor. Gayle averaged 32.50 in 8 innings at last years BBL - 15th best*. His strike-rate (155.69) was sixth best in the tournament and 260 runs was 8th best.

* minimum 6 innings

On performance alone Gayle returning night not be a sure thing, but cricket as with any sport these days is also about celebrity status, and Gayle is about a big a name as there is in cricket.

I'd imagine that he would return and a team would be willing to take a chance with him, as off the field alone it would be a huge revenue boost.

[quote author=pwarbi link=topic=103896.msg690908#msg690908 date=1461596374]
On performance alone Gayle returning night not be a sure thing, but cricket as with any sport these days is also about celebrity status, and Gayle is about a big a name as there is in cricket.

I'd imagine that he would return and a team would be willing to take a chance with him, as off the field alone it would be a huge revenue boost.
[/quote]
I think you can make a very strong argument that the biggest revenue boost in any sport is winning. Winning equals bigger crowds which means higher ticket sales, higher merchandising and advertising revenue, and prize money for finishing in a higher position.

As we just saw in the previous IPL match between the Lions and RCB, despite Kohli scoring a century, RCB lost. One great player doesn't make for a great team, it is all about balance throughout the lineup. We can also point to the Indian side at the recent T20 World Cup as another example of this - their batting outside of Kohli and Dhoni was extremely weak.

As teams in the BBL are limited to a $1.3 million salary cap, it is imperative to get the right mix of players. Having 1 or 2 all-time great players and 9 or 10 mediocre players, isn't a recipe for a winning team, further evidenced by the fact that Gayle's team, the Melbourne Renegades, finished sixth and failed to make the play-offs, winning just 3 of their 8 matches.

If you are interested to learn more about this, I highly recommend checking out this study conducted by the guys over at CricMetric. It does a fantastic job of determining each players Runs Above Average value, his Win Probability Added and overall net value. Check out the incredible value offered by Moises Henriques - he provided a value of $1.45 million but was drafted at auction for a paltry $166,000 - a net value of $1.29 million. Conversely, James Faulkner provided a negative net value of -$535,000.

It is also worth pointing out that even with Gayle's appearance in this years BBL, Cricket Australia lost approximately $12 million on the revamped Big Bash, though they are hopeful of recouping their losses from a new TV deal at the end of next season.

One final point regarding star power, as BBL teams are only permitted to contract two overseas players in their squad of 18, it means only 16 overseas players can be drafted in total. As such, its not as though the drop off in star power from Gayle to whomever would replace him would be all that big. The likes of Jade Dernbach wouldn't be drafted in his place, but more likely someone along the lines of ABdV, Brendan McCullum, Faf du Plessis, Kane Williamson or Martin Guptill - all big names in their own right.

I do take your points on board my friend, but for a youngster just starting to play or watch cricket, I do think they're more interested in the big name player, rather than the actual results sometimes rightly or wrongly.

Buying a shirt and having Gayle on the back, not looking at a teams results but being happy with your favourite players performance is a trait that kids have and that's why I think having a player like Gayle on your books is important to a team off the field rather than on it.

We all know how good Gayle can be in the field on his day, but when he's not performing to the top of his game, he'll be at the top of the shirt sales and at the front of the media hype that surrounds the competition, and that's important for the commercial aspect I think.

Just don't let anyone but Rosie 0'Donell interview 'im!   

"... but when he's not performing to the top of his game, he'll be at the top of

the shirt sales and at the front of the media hype that surrounds the competition,

and that's important for the commercial aspect I think "


not too shabby thinking ...for a youngster