West Indies captain Chris Gayle has called for greater discipline from his team as it prepares for tomorrow's second Test in Adelaide.
West Indies captain Chris Gayle has called for greater discipline from his team as it prepares for tomorrow's second Test in Adelaide.
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Gayle writes in his syndicated column this morning: "I might sound like I've gone a touch crazy but I've got no doubt that Australia are beatable".
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"But if we are to turn things around in Adelaide tomorrow we have to be a lot more disciplined than we were in the first Test.
"That's where we are vulnerable and that is where Ricky Ponting and his team have got a big edge over us.
"One thing we can't afford to do is to think the Adelaide pitch will help lift us over the line.
"It was a total disaster for us in Brisbane and in my opinion the Gabba was the best Test pitch that we will find in Australia this summer.
"Having said that there are some good signs coming into this Test.
"Ramnaresh Sarwan seems to be coming along and hopefully he will be a good chance to play which will help to lift our batting group.
"And after talking to Shiv Chanderpaul this week, I am also expecting really big things from him.
"Shiv is our No 1 batsman and it is a big danger for Australia that he didn't get among the runs in Brisbane.
Gayle admits his team's performance in the first Test was 'well below par'.
"In fact it was terrible," he says.
"But people forget we have also had a lot of things go against us this tour. I had to fly home to see my sick mum before the Gabba Test, Sarwan was injured at training and then Jerome Taylor was injured during the Test.
"Any side would find it hard to deal with some of those sort of things.
"The other thing that people forget is that Australia used to be in the same position we are now. They spent a lot of time in the 1980s rebuilding before they became a good side.
"If we can start winning Test matches and being competitive then everything else will follow."
Gayle added, "I can promise you we are doing our very best in the practice nets and we also want to put our best foot forward in the middle."
Meanwhile former West Indies wicket-keeper Junior Murray has criticised the West Indies team for lacking "pride and passion".
In Adelaide to play a charity match, Murray, who played 33 Tests and 55 ODIs for the West Indies, said he was sad at the state of West Indies cricket and implored the players to put their heads down and dig deeper.
"It is very sad being a past player, with all the guys before, who are really passionate.
"It's got to come from deep within, you cannot really instil it (pride and passion), you have to have it in you. As a West Indian if you want to play Test cricket it's got to be from within you."
Referring to his playing days with Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh and Kenny and Winston Benjamin, Murray said they all played with more pride and passion than the present lot.
Murray said legends such as Viv Richards and Clive Lloyd were "hurting" at the state of West Indies cricket.
This morning Australian skipper Ricky Ponting sounded a note of warning as India strive to reach the No 1 position in ICC Test rankings during the ongoing series against Sri Lanka.
Ponting wrote in his column: "The one thing I've stressed to the boys is that every day from now until the Ashes series next summer (in Australia) is a stepping stone to do whatever we can to improve.
"However well we played in Brisbane, I want us to do better in Adelaide.
"That's what good teams do. They find ways to challenge themselves and make themselves better. When we had stars around such as Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Matthew Hayden and Adam, Gilchrist that's what they were always doing.
"They're the things we have to ram home again this week," Ponting wrote in what can be construed as a grim warning to the West Indies.
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