All differences rectified - Gayle

 who played his first innings in West Indies colours since the 2011 World Cup against Middlesex on Wednesday, has said that all differences between him and the WICB have been resolved and his aim now is to give a lift to Caribbean cricket.

"Everything has been rectified," Gayle said. "The main objective is to contribute to West Indies cricket and uplift it. I'm available for all formats of the game. Hopefully I can get some runs in whites and in coloured clothes."

Gayle had been in international exile after the World Cup following the breakdown of his relationship with the WICB and was restricted to plying his trade, quite successfully, in domestic Twenty20 leagues around the world. After prolonged discussions with the WICB, Gayle eventually pulled out of a contract with Somerset to show his commitment to West Indies, following which he was selected in the squad for the limited-overs series against England.

He began his comeback with 34 off 30 deliveries in the West Indians' big win over Middlesex in the tour match at Lord's and admitted to feeling "a bit nervous" at the start. "It is good to be back in my No. 45 jersey I represented West Indies in once. I started out a bit nervous, I am human, but things came along well after that. Unfortunately I got out. I am looking forward to the first ODI and should be in a better state of mind."

Gayle said at the moment it was very important for him to fit into the squad as quickly as possible. "Once you get settled in everything will come back to normal. You get that feel again in any environment which you have been out of for a year. Once you get back that feeling, once you get back into your comfort zone, things will be much easier.

"I want to contribute more. Hopefully get a few more centuries for West Indies. The most important thing is to try and get a couple of series wins. Because the pressure has been there. Even when I wasn't playing, the pressure has still been there outside. I am still a part of it whichever way you look at it."

Gayle has declared himself available for all three formats of the game, so should return to Test cricket on July 25 against New Zealand in Antigua - his first Test since December 2010. His return also provides a major boost to West Indies' chances at the World T20 in September.

In the absence of Gayle, and another veteran Ramnaresh Sarwan, West Indies' focus has been on building a squad for the future under coach Ottis Gibson and captain Darren Sammy. Gayle agreed that youngsters were the future. "When you look at guys like Adrian Barath or Kieran Powell or even young Darren Bravo, they have long contributions to make for West Indies cricket. They are the future. You cannot just hide them or throw them away. You still have to keep them in the group. And hopefully with experience things are going to be well."

Looking ahead to the ODI series against England, Gayle said while West Indies have a talented squad with plenty of powerhitters, they "still have a lot to do by rotating the strike, picking up the singles and playing smart cricket."

England and West Indies play three ODIs and a T20 later this month with the first one-dayer at West End on June 16.

Gayle formally recalled to West Indies squad

15-month international exile is over after he was formally recalled to the West Indies ODI squad for the forthcoming series against England, starting in Southampton on June 16.

In keeping with the fractious and drawn out nature of the dispute that kept Gayle out of the team, his recall was confirmed after a meeting of more political than selection nature in St Vincent. Gayle and the West Indies Players' Association chief executive*, Michael Hall, spoke with an array of political and cricket figures including the island's prime minister Ralph Gonsalves, Antigua and Barbuda prime minister Baldwin Spencer, WICB president Julian Hunte, WICB director Elson Crick and the WICB's legal officer Alanna Medford.

The meeting, devised to smooth over any "residual matters" between Gayle and the WICB, was followed by the announcement of the squad for the limited-overs segment of the England tour, with Gayle returning to the ranks for the first time since the 2011 World Cup.

West Indies' ODI squad Chris Gayle, Johnson Charles, Lendl Simmons, Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Darren Sammy (capt), Dwayne Smith, Andre Russell, Tino Best, Fidel Edwards, Ravi Rampaul, Sunil Narine

"Directors of the West Indies Cricket Board recently met by teleconference and are pleased that consistent with his previous commitment Mr Chris Gayle has made himself available for selection to the West Indies team," a WICB statement had said of the meeting. "The board believes that Mr Gayle's stated commitment to West Indies cricket will be an asset to the team and looks forward to his contributions in that regard."

Gayle's recall was first mooted during West Indies' earlier home series against Australia, when he met with WICB officials to repair a relationship that had deteriorated around the emergence of Twenty20 and the rise of the Indian Premier League. It then dissolved entirely when the former captain criticised the coach Ottis Gibson and the WICB during a radio interview last year.

In England the mood for Gayle's return has gathered strength, pushed along by the words of Kevin Pietersen, who said it would be "brilliant for the game" if he was recalled, while the former West Indies fast bowler and widely respected commentator Michael Holding effectively challenged the WICB to stop delaying Gayle's rehabilitation as an international player.

Lendl Simmons is the other notable recall to the ODI team after he missed the home matches against Australia. Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell also return to the team for limited-overs matches after completing their IPL duties.

Bell replaces Stokes in Lions squad

Durham allrounder Ben Stokes has been ruled out of next week's England Lions match against West Indies with a back injury. Warwickshire's Ian Bell has replaced Stokes in the squad for the four-day fixture which begins in Northampton on Thursday.

While Bell made a century in the Championship match against Durham this week, he was keen for more time in the middle following a lean spell of form. Prior to that century, Bell had passed 20 only four times in his last 20 first-class innings and admitted that he had felt out of sorts at the crease. Warwickshire do not have a Championship game next week, so Bell had intended to content himself with facing Warwickshire's bowlers in a net on the square at Edgbaston.

"I just haven't have enough time at the crease," Bell said following his century. "I'm netted out, to be honest. I've had enough time in the net. It's scoring runs that helps your confidence and your form. I feel I've just been scratching around. It started in the UAE, but even here, in the last two games, I just didn't feel the rhythm was there. Even the 50 I made in Sri Lanka, on a really good batting wicket, felt like hard work."

The news is a further setback to Stokes. Although he made his international debuts in T20 and ODI cricket towards the end of last season, he was hampered by a finger injury that forced him out of contention for the winter tours. The back injury is not thought to require surgery and is thought to be a recurrence of a stress reaction that bothered him as a teenager. He will receive anti-inflammatory injections in his back this week but will not be available for Durham's match against Somerset.

Geoff Miller, England's national selector, said: "It is unfortunate that Ben's injury has ruled him out of the match against West Indies. Ian Bell was keen to play another game ahead of the Test series and after performing well for Warwickshire this week this match provides an ideal opportunity for him to continue his preparations as well as helping to ensure England Lions prove challenging opposition for West Indies."

Gibson, Sammy pleased to have Gayle back

West Indies have openly embraced the return of their premier batsman Chris Gayle, who on Wednesday committed to making himself available for selection for the one-day leg of their tour of England. In doing so he decided to forsake his contract with Somerset as an overseas player for the Friends Life t20 and Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, said if Gayle was available, he would "definitely be picked".

However, West Indies captain, Darren Sammy, warned that his predecessor will need to get used to the new "hardworking culture" put in place in the West Indies dressing room.

Speaking at West Indies' media conference at Hove, ahead of a three-day tour match beginning on Saturday, Gibson said: "It is great to hear that Chris is available again. I'm sure the selectors will pick him, because he is world-class. If he's made himself available for the one-day series, I can't see him not being selected."

Gibson, who has been openly critical of Gayle in the past, was confident that despite having not played international cricket since the 2011 World Cup, the opener would slip back into the team environment without fuss. "It will be very easy [for him]," Gibson responded, after being asked whether Gayle would find it difficult to re-establish himself in the international arena. "He's the best one-day batsman in the world. So I don't think it will be a problem at all.

"He plays very well, going into many different dressing rooms all round the world and making runs. I don't think coming into ours will be any different."

Sammy said the team had not been distracted by the standoff between Gayle and the WICB, which has remained the main West Indies talking point in the last year, despite the team making gradual progress in certain areas. Asked if it had been unsettling for him to read about the Gayle issue all the time, Sammy pointed out he was busy drilling in the new culture that he and Gibson had put in place.

"I don't necessarily focus on that. I am more focused on what the team is trying to do," Sammy said. "The Chris Gayle issue has been going on for a while but we as a team have moved on and as you could see the last series we played we came out with a new attitude: where we are not going to let anybody keep us down. We are going to strive to move forward. When Chris joins the set-up, he will be coming into a very hardworking environment in which he has to fit in."

At the same time Sammy said Gayle's return could only be a good thing for West Indies cricket. "As a captain, whoever comes into the dressing I know myself and the coach would welcome them. Obviously we would urge them to contribute to the team's success. If he is in it is all good for us. We all know what he is capable of doing and hopefully he could fit in nicely and do the job to take West Indies cricket forward."

Gayle had ruled himself out of selection for the three-Test series against England having got a NOC from the WICB to participate in the IPL, where he represents Royal Challengers Bangalore. Gibson did not entirely agree with the opinion that some West Indies players were more interested in the monetary gains accrued from playing in lucrative Twenty20 tournaments around the world, while they picked and chose which series to play in national colours.

"In an ideal world you would want all your best players available to you all the time and still be making money and the board to be able to say to somebody 'we don't want you to go to the IPL, so we will pay you X amount of money to stay at home and play for us', but the reality is that is not possible in the Caribbean because of the financial situation," Gibson said.

In such a situation, Gibson said the WICB did not have much to bargain with. "The board has tried to negotiate, if you like, with people. That is what it has come to. That is the reality. So some guys can go off and play in the IPL and come back and play in the one-day series for instance. It is a little bit of give and take. It is good to see some of the guys go down that road rather than say they are unavailable completely. So it is not ideal but it is what it is and we just have to get on with it really."