Chris Gayle suing over indecent exposure allegation

Gayle sparked a storm of protest when asking television reporter Mel McLaughlin out for a drink during a post-match interview, his crass behaviour earning him a AU$10,000 (£4,800) fine from the Big Bash tournament organisers.

But a far more serious allegation then surfaced in the Sydney Morning Herald, with a woman claiming that Gayle dropped his towel and allegedly asked "are you looking for this?" when she entered the West Indies changing room during a pre-World Cup match in Sydney.

Gayle has strenuously denied the allegations, and is suing the newspaper's publishers, Fairfax Media, after engaging lawyer Mark O'Brien.

"Cricketer Chris Gayle has strongly denied the allegations first published by Fairfax Media that he indecently exposed himself to a woman during last year’s World Cup in Sydney,” Gayle’s management told Fox Sports in a statement.

"Despite such denials, Fairfax Media continues to publish the false and defamatory allegations which have received widespread republication in media throughout the world.

"As a result, Chris Gayle has retained Mark O’Brien, a leading Australian media lawyer, to immediately commence defamation proceedings against Fairfax Media."

The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Wednesday night that since Gayle has been named publicly, "a report would be filed by [West Indies coach Richie] Richardson to the West Indies Cricket Board."

Richardson, the report adds, "was told about the claims told about the claims at the time but did not know which player was involved and therefore dealt with them internally."

The paper also suggests that Gayle's international future could be at risk, despite not having a contract with the West Indies Cricket Board: "The 36-year-old does not have a contract with the WICB but if the matter is properly investigated and misconduct is proven it could potentially affect his participation in the ICC World Twenty20 event in India in March."