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Chris Gayle named Jamaica captain

Chris Gayle bats in the nets AFP

Chris Gayle has been appointed Jamaica's captain for the WICB President's Cup instead of the regular captain Tamar Lambert, the Jamaican Cricket Association (JCA) has confirmed. The one-day tournament, which begins in October, marks the start of the West Indies domestic season and will be held in Jamaica.

"I can confirm that the selectors made a recommendation and the board of the Jamaica Cricket Association ratified the decision," Paul Campbell, the JCA president, told The Sunday Gleaner. "The selectors took a look at the report of the [Caribbean] Twenty20, and figured that while Tamar Lambert represents a good choice of captain and in the longer version in particular, it was felt that at this time that Chris Gayle was a better choice for the one-dayers."

In July, the JCA had backed the selectors' decision to nominate Lambert as captain for the Caribbean T20 instead of Gayle, who leads West Indies. They had also denied suggestions that Gayle was discarded as captain and said that Lambert was a logical choice as he had played regularly for Jamaica over the last few seasons, as opposed to Gayle, who had been busy with international commitments. Jamaica finished fourth in the domestic Twenty20 tournament and lost out on a place in the lucrative Champions League Twenty20.