Saturday 21 March 2015 22:43, UK
Big-hitting West Indies opener Chris Gayle has ruled himself out of next month’s Test series at home to England due to a back problem.
However, the 35-year-old says he is not planning to retire from any of the international formats just yet.
The left-hander has long been regarded as one of the most dangerous batsmen in world cricket but he had to have a painkilling injection in his back earlier this week in order to play in Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final against New Zealand.
Gayle then top scored for West Indies with 61 off just 33 balls as they lost by 143 runs but struggled to run between the wickets and also appeared in pain when he took a catch during the New Zealand innings.
Looking towards the future, Gayle told ESPN Cricinfo: “I'm actually out of the Test series (against England), the back won't hold up for that format at this point in time
"But I haven't retired from any format, as yet. I definitely want to play the T20 World Cup next year for West Indies, there's no doubt about that.
“I've got a few concerns to try and solve. I'll give myself some time and, as I go on, I will keep informing WICB (West Indies Cricket Board) about my progress."
Regarding how he felt during Saturday’s game, he added: “The back actually held up well, in the outfield for 50 overs and then opening the batting.
"It wasn't too bad, had a slight scare again with a niggle in the groin, so all that was happening.
"You have to take the conditions into consideration, it was a bit cold and you're feeling some pain.”
West Indies began their World Cup campaign with a loss to Ireland and ended it with a heavy defeat to the co-hosts but performed quite impressively at times in between.
And Gayle said: “I thought we played some great cricket.
“We had a good all-round team and the guys played some crucial innings for us.
“It was a situation where, you look at it, we reached a quarter-final and anything could have happened. You just need two good games.”
