MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Cricket Australia says it will not take any steps to prevent West Indian batsman Chris Gayle playing in its Big Bash Twenty20 league next season.
In what appears to be a reversal of position, chief executive James Sutherland told News Corp. Saturday that Cricket Australia would not involve itself in a recruitment issue unless it involved a player implicated in match-fixing.
Gayle's tenure with the Melbourne Renegades in last year's BBL was tainted when he made what was interpreted as a sexist comment to a female television reporter. During a sideline interview he invited reporter Mel McLaughlin for a drink, then said ''don't blush baby'' when she showed embarrassment.
Gayle was fined $10,000 for the comments which Sutherland described as ''completely inappropriate'' and ''bordering on harrassment.''
