Nottingham, May 23

England’s Kevin Pietersen has said it will be "great for the game" if West Indies "superstar" Chris Gayle returns for the second Test at Trent Bridge starting here on Friday.

Gayle, one of the world’s most aggressive opening batsman, has not played international cricket for over a year because of a dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board.

The left-handed opener was not selected for the Test squad and in his absence the West Indies suffered a five-wicket defeat in the first of a three-match series at Lord’s on Monday.

Gayle, who said recently he was making himself available again for international duty, had been expected to return in the subsequent one-day series against England.

But with his commitments in the Indian Premier League having come to an end following the elimination of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, the former West Indies captain could yet feature in the Tests against England. West Indies have suffered a series of top-order collapses during Gayle’s international exile, including in both innings at Lord’s.

Fellow attacking batsman Pietersen, who knows Gayle well from their time together in the IPL, said: "He’s a superstar and he is one of my real good mates in cricket. I love the way he plays.

"It will be brilliant for the game if he comes back to play this Test match. He is an entertainer. People want to watch entertainers. They don’t want to watch people blocking the ball."