Chris Gayle, the flamboyant West Indies master blaster more known for slamming sixes, is on the defensive.

He has taken a group of Australian newspapers to court to clear his name over allegations that he exposed himself to a masseur.

On the opening day of his defamation action, Gayle’s barrister told the NSW Supreme Court the allegations were ‘quite foul and quite wrong’.

‘They intended to blacken his name. They want to destroy him,’ Bruce McClintock said.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported Gayle as telling the court ‘it never happened’.

‘It’s the most hurtful thing I’ve actually come across in my entire life,’ he said. ‘This is one case I have to fight. I want to clear my name.’

Fairfax said it was defending the articles on the basis that the allegations were substantially true and in the public interest.

Their publication followed an uproar after Gayle attempted to flirt with an Australian presenter on live TV, asking her out for a drink and telling her: ‘Don’t blush, baby.’

The hearing is scheduled to run for 10 days.

Photo: Duif du Toit/Gallo Images