GROS ISLET, St Lucia (CMC) – Struggling left-hander Chris Gayle has hailed the support of captain Kieron Pollard and fellow veteran Dwayne Bravo, after breaking out of a prolonged slump with a half-century against Australia on Monday night.

Under immense pressure after averaging a meagre 14 in his previous 17 Twenty20 International innings, the 41-year-old lashed a top score of 67 off 38 deliveries to mark his first half-century in five years, as West Indies beat Australia by six wickets to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

“What was actually pleasing about getting these runs was my teammates,” the Jamaican said.

“I want to dedicate this half-century and this milestone to West Indies, to my teammates, especially Kieron Pollard. We had a team meeting before the game and he [stood] tall and that’s what a leader should have done anyway. 

“He [stood] tall regardless of the person I am and what I’ve achieved. He let me know where I stand within this team and [let me know] he wants me to go and express myself. 

 “So I was very grateful for that pep talk because sometimes it doesn’t matter how great you are, you need a little bit of [a] talk sometimes and that coming from Kieron Pollard, [was important].”

He continued, “Dwayne Bravo was a big supporter in the media as well so I have to commend those senior guys as well. I think they played a fantastic part in what happened today (Monday).”

Gayle scraped 29 runs from three innings against Sri Lanka earlier this year and could only manage 56 from four innings against South Africa recently, as his form continued to spiral.

It meant his last score in excess of fifty was his hundred in the opening game of the 2016 T20 World Cup in India.

Gayle said after trying, but failing to adapt to a new role in the batting group, he had decided to revert to what had worked for him in the past. 

“Looking back, when I got back into the West Indies team against Sri Lanka, I was trying to play a different role rather than playing like Chris Gayle himself,” he explained.

“So I was more on the team side, I’m more of a team person so I tried to adapt within the mixture, or to what the captain wanted or the coach wanted within the team, so I tried to adapt to that.

“I didn’t get any runs but what was important is that the guys rallied around me … so I’m very pleased about that. It’s coming on.”

Gayle is the most decorated batsman in the West Indies setup, boasting 431 T20s overall, and surpassing 14 000 runs during his recent half-century.

He has also scored 22 hundreds and with extensive experience gained from a long career, he said value to the team went beyond runs.

“As Bravo mentioned [in the past], it’s trying to keep the calmness inside the dressing room, pointing out areas with each individual as well,” he stressed.

“I play a big part when I speak within the meeting. Bravo plays a part from the bowling side and I sort of do that from the batting side. 

“[Shimron] Hetmyer as well, he’s a batting leader within the team as well, so I’m blessed to see those youngsters taking up that sort of role, not only me standing and give big speeches, but those guys really commend each other, and it’s fantastic and I’m really happy with where we’re heading.”

Gayle said even more important than his personal success was the fact West Indies had notched a series success.

“I’m so pleased to get a series win first of all and I just want to commend the stand-in captain Nicholas Pooran … on winning a fantastic series against a great team,” he said.

“Kieron Pollard played a big part as well even though he didn’t play in any of these games, so I want to commend him as well.”

Pollard led the side against South Africa but has missed all three games against Australia due to a slight injury.