Watch: Dwayne Bravo had tried it on Mel McLaughlin before Gayle did

Social media has been quick to point out a January 2014 interview with West Indian Dwayne Bravo ever since Chris Gayle has faced a grilling over his “disrespectful and simply inappropriate” comments to Channel 10 reporter Mel McLaughlin last night. During the live cross, Bravo made a special mention to Ms McLaughlin after receiving his medal for man of the match. Bravo and Gayle are teammates in BBL’s Melbourne Renegades team.

“You’ve got a special message for one of our commentators?” the interviewer asked. Bravo responded, “I just want to say hello to Mel, beautiful Mel, I was lucky enough to meet her once in Sydney. I just want to say hi and I see she’s still looking beautiful.” The camera panned to McLaughlin in the studio, who appeared visibly embarrassed. “That was slightly uncomfortable,” co-presenter Ricky Ponting said. McLaughlin then attempted to change the topic of conversation. “Let’s, ah, well … let’s concentrate on what he did in the field first … over to either of you, I don’t really care right now,” she said.

There was no “don’t blush, baby” in Bravo’s interview and he wasn’t brought up on the comments later. Last night, Channel 10 commentator Mark Howard described the confrontation with Gayle as inappropriate and highlighted McLaughlin’s professionalism in the face of flirtation. Cricket Australia had told clubs a key objective of this summer was to boost female interest, and it successfully launched the Women’s Big Bash League last month.

Gayle has been fined $10,000 by the Melbourne Renegades for his comments. The fine would be donated to the McGrath Foundation. McLaughlin in a television interview said that while she was disappointed by Gayle’s conduct, she has accepted his apology and now wants to move on.

Watch: Dwayne Bravo had tried it on Mel McLaughlin even before Gayle:

Here is the controversial video – Watch: Chris Gayle flirts with BBL anchor Mel McLaughlin