Sydney Thunder laps up Gayle for Big Bash
June 30th, 2011 - 4:06 pm ICT by IANSSydney, June 30 (IANS) Big Bash team Sydney Thunder Thursday bought West Indies opener Chris Gayle. The New South Wales team spent almost half its salary cap on the explosive opening combination of Gayle and David Warner.
The two players were signed up within an hour of the opening of Big Bash contract window. Gayle was pursued by Perth Scorchers but he rejected an offer of $250,000 to stay with the West Australia team.
For the last two seasons of the now-defunct state-based Twenty20 competition, Gayle was playing for Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) and demanded more money to stay at Perth.
“I am thrilled to be able to come to Sydney and play for the Thunder. Having worked well with John Dyson in the West Indies, I was impressed with his plans for the Thunder and I think the team will have a great chance to win this competition,” Gayle said on Cricket New South Wales’s website.
Scorchers coach Mickey Arthur also expressed his disappointment at not getting Gayle.
“There is no doubt that Chris is one of the most dangerous Twenty20 players in world cricket and it would have been great to have him on board with the Scorchers,” Arthur was quoted as saying by The Age.
“But there are limitations within the salary cap and securing one player but running the risk of losing talented young players in the process is simply not an option when you are trying to build a team from scratch.”
“We have made the decision to invest in our local stars, whilst also entering the market for two outstanding international recruits,” Arthur said.
“We are very confident we have the mix right and look forward to making several exciting announcements in the coming days.”
All eight teams have a salary cap of $1 million for season one of the league with a minimum playing contract set at $20,000. The contracting window for the 2011-12 season opened at 9 a.m. Thursday and closes at 5 p.m. Friday. Teams can sign up to 18 players - and a minimum of 14 - including up to two from overseas.
- Warner most sought after player in Big Bash - Jun 26, 2011
- Clarke, Johnson still undecided on Big Bash - Jul 10, 2011
- Richards lambasts WICB for its handling of Gayle issue - Dec 16, 2011
- Gayle all set to play again for Warriors in Twenty20 Big Bash - Nov 10, 2010
- Gayle to play for WA in KFC Twenty20 Big Bash - Nov 19, 2010
- Fidel, Bollinger join Sydney Thunders - Jul 13, 2011
- Gayle likely to miss Caribbean T20 event for Big Bash - Dec 10, 2011
- Chris excited about Durban assignment - Sep 09, 2011
- Somerset not suing Gayle over contract snub - May 05, 2012
- Gayle hits back at West Indies Cricket Board - Apr 21, 2011
- Gibson, Sammy welcome Gayle's return - May 04, 2012
- Gayle wants end to Windies snub, says Caricom must step in - Jul 02, 2011
- Partying tops Gayle's agenda over Ashes series - Dec 29, 2010
- Gayle smashes Sydney to their second win in Big Bash - Dec 23, 2011
- Indian cricket board says no to Australia's Big Bash - Apr 30, 2011
Tags: australia team, chris gayle, cricket association, david warner, disappointment, john dyson, laps, new south wales, no doubt, perth, running the risk, salary cap, scorchers, team sydney, two seasons, waca, west australia, west indies, western australia, world cricket