Unfortunately, all these feats were confined to the field of play. Off it, whatever elation there might have been was, once more, diminished by the current round of bitter internal squabbling that has been the depressing feature of West Indies cricket since the last decade of the 20th century.
This one concerns the omission, and the reasons for it, of the established trio of Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan from the early matches of the Pakistan tour.
It led to lengthy correspondence between West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) chief executive Ernest Hilaire and Guyana's Sports Minister Frank Anthony over the status of Chanderpaul and Sarwan, both Guyanese, and acerbic charge and counter-charge between Hilaire and Gayle over the circumstances that prompted the left-handed opener to don the coloured livery of the Chennai Super Kings rather than the usual maroon of the West Indies.
Predictably, the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) stated its objections while, just as predictably, hundreds joined the debate on the omnipresent outlets on the internet. It was all so familiar.
Yet, even as the latest storm clouds gathered, there were those in high places, expressing optimism about the future.
"Let me assure you, West Indies cricket is at the cusp of a resurgence," WICB vice-president Dave Cameron proclaimed in Kingston.
He mentioned the establishment of the High Performance Centre at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill campus and the introduction of the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) team in the regional first-class competition as two of the "critical elements".
Hilaire took up the theme in stating that Chanderpaul, Gayle and Sarwan had been left out in keeping with the stated policy of "moving forward and building a broad pool of international players".
Whatever the reasoning, it was a daring move to remove, at one fell swoop, such a huge chunk of experience.
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