Chris Gayle ... given a stern reprimand from the West Indies Cricket Board

LONDON (AP):

WEST INDIES cricket authorities have threatened to punish Chris Gayle with "drastic and immediate action" if he continues to criticise their running of the game.

Gayle hit out last week after a series of gaffes and embarrass-ments for West Indian cricket including a dismal performance as World Cup host, a comprehensive Test series defeat in England and players arriving too late in Britain to feature in warm-up games for a one-day series.

He was also irked by the board's failed attempt to veto his appoint-ment as one-day captain, with an unsuccessful effort to install Daren Ganga, who was not even in the limited-overs squad after scoring just 105 runs in four Tests against England.

Apologise

West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Kenneth Gordon and team manager Michael Findlay met Gayle on Monday as the squad prepared for its three one-day matches against England, and Gayle refused to apologise for his remarks.

"The WICB has issued a very strongly worded letter of reprimand to Mr. Gayle advising him that his conduct is totally unacceptable and that the WICB will pursue this matter at the end of the tour," the WICB said in a statement yesterday.

"The WICB is hopeful that notwithstanding his unwillingness to apologise, Mr. Gayle will understand the seriousness of his actions and avoid any further statements or behaviour that will force the WICB to take drastic and immediate action against him."

Gayle was criticised as a youngster for not showing sufficient respect to senior team members and recently railed against curfew rules preventing players from partying during tours. For this tour, Gayle said the board should have made sure players arrived earlier in England and not interfered in his naming as captain.

Best out of the board

"The WICB says they want the best out of players but we also need the best out of the board," Gayle said last week. "The board is always talking about players needing to change but we, the players, need changes from the board as well.

"We can't be out in the wilderness all the time because we are the ones who are getting all the blame."

The dominant team in world cricket in the 1970s and '80s, the West Indies have slumped dras-tically. Players have been at loggerheads with authorities, successive squads have quarrelled among themselves, participation in the sport has dipped, and the WICB has been criticised for its mismanagement.

Inexperienced players

Three of West Indies' 14-man squad arrived in England on Thursday and did not have time to make it to a warm-up match at Worcester, leaving management to call up inexperienced players from local leagues and universities to plug the gaps.

The West Indies players have also been in dispute with the WICB over the body's reluctance to make extra payments for the tour of England. An independent arbitration panel last week ruled in favour of the West Indies Players' Association, the fifth time in five hearings a panel has done so.