Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer

West Indies captain Christopher Gayle has described yesterday's victory over England on the fourth day in their opening Test match at Sabina Park as a defining moment in West Indies cricket.

"It is definitely a turning point, but we don't know how big as yet ... we just have to wait until the series is finished," said Gayle. "It is tremendous to be one-up in this Test series, and hopefully, we can capitalise on this start and try to make the best use of it," he said.

The West Indies, led by pace bowler Jerome Taylor's (5-11) and spinner Sulieman Benn (4-17) dismissed England for a mere 51, to win the match by an innings and 23 runs. Resuming on 352 for seven, the West Indies reached 392 all out for a 74-run first innings lead.

Credit to players

"I think that credit must go to the guys for the way we started out this morning, especially Nash (Brendan) and Sulieman Benn for the way they batted. They were able to take the lead up to 70 runs, and this was very important on this wicket," said Gayle.

Gayle added that he did not believe that England went into the game underestimating their strengths.

"I think that they knew our capabilities and they are not here to take us for granted because they know that we can be very dangerous on our day and they saw that today," he said.

Gayle, who scored his ninth Test hundred (104) in the West Indies' only innings noted that the team will continue working as a unit going into the second Test in Antigua and Barbuda because England will not roll over and die after one defeat.

"I am sure that England are going to be coming hard at us and we are looking forward to it," he said.

Understanding role

He added that each player is now understanding his role in the team.

"We are all not from the same places, but it is good to see that we are working well as a unit and the guys can correspond with each other."

Gayle, who won his first Test match as captain on home soil, noted that removing Kevin Pietersen early in the innings was also a key factor in his team's victory.

"Picking up his wicket (Kevin Pietersen) after lunch was key for us and we decided that we weren't going to relax once we got him out because the ball was doing a bit and Taylor was getting it in the right areas," Gayle concluded.