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West Indies captain Chris Gayle - Source: Photosport -
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Chris Gayle has defended his decision to spend only two days in England with two practice sessions before leading West Indies in the first cricket Test at Lord's on Thursday
Gayle delayed his arrival until Tuesday after playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in South Africa on Sunday.
He told a news conference at Lord's on Wednesday that he had been given permission by the West Indies Cricket Board to delay his arrival and had played big matches soon after long flights in the past.
"I'm fresh," he said. "I'm ready to go, I got in early in the morning and had a net session in the afternoon."
Gayle practised for the second time on Tuesday in preparation for a hastily arranged two-match series which has been heavily influenced by the lucrative IPL Twenty20 competition.
Zimbabwe were originally scheduled to tour before the British government refused to issue visas.
Sri Lanka were invited in their place but, after their government agreed that 13 players who had already signed for the IPL should be allowed to fulfil their obligations, West Indies stepped in.
They will defend the Wisden Trophy for the first time since 2000, after winning in the Caribbean this year.
"When I heard about the tour I scratched my head a bit," Gayle said.
"But there's no way I could avoid coming here to England, it was a must to participate in this series against England."
England also lost players to the IPL, staged in South Africa this year because of security concerns in India.
Paul Collingwood, who will bat at number five behind Kevin Pietersen, did not play a single match in South Africa while Pietersen made two ducks. Ravi Bopara, who will bat at number three for the first time for England, also played in the IPL with more success than his two middle-order companions.
"They are (under-prepared) without a doubt, with regard to Test cricket," head coach Andy Flower told BBC radio.
Proper Preparation
West Indies coach John Dyson told a news conference on Tuesday that fast bowler Fidel Edwards had flown in from South Africa on the previous day.
"Medical guys say you need time to recover from flights," he said. "Coaches say you need time to practise and prepare properly."
England captain Andrew Strauss said on Wednesday it was important that Test cricket got the attention it deserved.
"That means people prepare themselves properly for any Test match that you play," Strauss told a news conference.
"You don't want Test cricket to be devalued in any way, shape or form. There's a line there, certainly we wouldn't want our players to arrive two days before."
Strauss said England were keen to end their sorry recent record in opening Test matches.
Since beating Bangladesh in 2005, England have gone 14 matches without winning the first test of a series.
"The reality is you don't want to be either level or behind after the first test of a series. You want to be in front and in order to do that you have to hit the ground running," he said.
England will play five bowlers with wicketkeeper Matt Prior batting at number six in place of the injured Andrew Flintoff.
Spinners Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar are the likely 12th-man candidates but Strauss said England were keeping their options open with weather conditions in London changing on an almost hourly basis.
West Indies will wait until Thursday before deciding their team, with the biggest concern being an opening partner for Gayle after Devon Smith's indifferent form in England.
