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Gayle ruled out of England ODIs

Chris Gayle's return to West Indies colours has been interrupted by another injury © West Indies Cricket

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Chris Gayle has been ruled out of the one-day series against England after suffering lower back pain following the first Twenty20 involving Ireland as West Indies try to ensure he is fit for the World Twenty20. Dwayne Smith, the allrounder, has been called into the squads for both the one-off Ireland match and England series as a replacement.

The opening T20 match against Ireland was Gayle's first competitive fixture since he injured his hamstring during the one-day series in India last November which led to him missing the entire tour of New Zealand and the domestic Nagico Super50 tournament.

A WICB statement said: "Gayle experienced stiffness in his lower back following the first T20 International against Ireland on Wednesday. He had precautionary scans and will have medical management and necessary treatment in Jamaica."

Following the second T20 against Ireland, which West Indies won to level the series, Darren Sammy said a cautious approach would be taken with Gayle ahead of their World Twenty20 defence in Bangladesh before which they face England in three T20s in Barbados early next month.

"He is really working hard on his fitness, but he was feeling just a little soreness in his lower back and we decided we are not going to take the chance," he said. "He is very important for us and we have already lost the services of [Kieron] Pollard so we are giving Chris the best possible chance for him to be fit and recover nicely for us to use him in the future."

Smith faced Ireland in the two T20 matches which marked his return to the international fold after a gap of more than a year. He was the highest run-scorer and MVP in the Super50 tournament where he made 232 runs in four innings at 58.

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