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South Africa v West Indies, 3rd Test, Durban
Gayle out of final Test
Cricinfo staff
January 7, 2008
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Chris Gayle broke his thumb during the second Test and will miss the deciding match against South Africa
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West Indies captain Chris Gayle has ruled himself out of the deciding Test against South Africa in Durban with the broken thumb he picked up in Cape Town.
Gayle, who has also suffered from a hamstring problem throughout the series, took a blow from Andre Nel on the fourth morning forcing him to retire hurt. He returned when the ninth wicket fell to help extend West Indies' lead alongside Shivnarine Chanderpaul although South Africa eventually cruised home by seven wickets.
He batted with the aid of a pain-killing injection and was able to swing Nel and Dale Steyn for a series of mighty sixes but was never likely to be available for the third Test. There also continues to be a doubt over Fidel Edwards, who pulled up with a hamstring injury during his fifth over of the first innings.
"Even worse than losing the match was the expected prognosis that my thumb injury will necessitate another layoff of two to three weeks," Gayle said in his diary, "so I'm definitely out of the final and deciding Test match. I'm not sure about Fidel though. I hope he can play because having him is a significant advantage for us."
However, despite the injury setbacks Gayle is confident his team can still complete a series victory. "I strongly believe that we can still beat South Africa but we will have to put Cape Town behind us and get back to the high standard which we set in Port Elizabeth," he said. "We will have to fight even harder and give an improved performance with the bat if we are to pull off what would be a magnificent series success."
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