Lightning Bolt strikes Chris Gayle

He was clearly rusty with the bat but sent the crowd into raptures with a four and a superbly timed six off Gayle's off-spin

Lightning Bolt strikes Chris Gayle

He was clearly rusty with the bat but sent the crowd into raptures with a four and a superbly timed six off Gayle's off-spin

Athletics superman Usain Bolt is not merely a lover of cricket, he is actually darned good at it.

Playing in a charity match in Discovery Bay on Jamaica's north coast on Sunday, the treble world record holder bowled big hitting West Indies opener Chris Gayle with an express delivery, prompting the batsman and legendary fast bowler Curtly Ambrose to say they were impressed with Bolt's technique.

It brought the delirious holiday crowd, which had come in their thousands to see their national hero play cricket, to its feet.

"I told Chris to watch out and I was going to give him one but he didn't really believe it," an ecstatic Bolt said after the match. He had told reporters at the 2008 Beijing Olympics he was a "huge fan" of Australian opening batsman Matthew Hayden.

Gayle's team included former West Indies pace bowlers Courtney Walsh and Ambrose.

Earlier, Usain Bolt made 13 off 10 deliveries when batting with his brother Sadeeki.

He was clearly rusty with the bat but sent the crowd into raptures with a four and a superbly timed six off Gayle's off-spin.

"I was pretty good as a kid and my cricket coach said I should concentrate on bowling because I was pretty quick running in," Bolt said.

"I also used to open the batting for the school team but I haven't batted for a long time.

"The six was a brilliant feeling though. I shouldn't have got out so early but that six was a brilliant shot."

Curtly Ambrose said: "I liked his (Bolt's) first delivery to Chris Gayle, short and very surprising he's an athlete and he loves cricket and football and obviously he can't fit it all in but he looks good.

"He's good with the bat too after his six I asked him 'where did that come from?' and he said 'it's all coming back now.' He's a good decent cricketer," said Ambrose.

Bolt, who scored world championships victories in the 100m, 200m and 4 X 100m relays following his 2008 Olympic wins in the same events, said he would "rest his body" before beginning his preparations for the 2010
athletics season.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels