Gayle is looking for regrouping

Guyana, Mar 27 (UNI) After losing first Test against Sri Lanka, West Indies captain Chris Gayle is looking for a quick regrouping from his team in time for second and final match.

''It's just for us to go back to the drawing board and come back really prepared, focused and ready to play a tough Test match in Trinidad,'' he said.

West Indies lost to the Sri Lankans for the first time on home soil, by 121 runs yesterday.

Gayle, however, still saw positives in defeat - the bowling and the general contribution of debutant Sulieman Benn, the half centuries by vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan, and the second-innings 83 by Dwayne Bravo, who took Gayle's place at the top of the order.

Gayle, while explaining the move to send Bravo as opener said, ''While Bravo was bowling, I went up to him and said (jokingly): 'Bravo, you want to open the batting?' And he said, 'Yeah man, that will be better off for me as well.' So I decided to exchange positions.

''It paid off in the end. He got a half-century, I got a half-century. But it's not something I'm looking at for the next game, for Bravo to open the batting.'' The West Indian skipper also admitted his difficulty against Man-of-the-Match left-arm swing bowler Chaminda Vaas.

''It's no secret. Yes, he has got me out the majority of times in Test cricket whenever I play against Sri Lanka. It's something you have to face and something you have to deal with. I tried something different, tried something new, coming a bit later when the ball is a bit older, and it worked. But I don't know if I'm going to do it in the next game,'' he said.

Gayle's unbeaten 51 was not enough to save his side. But he is hopeful that it was the start of better for him against Vaas and company.

''The stats haven't been very good against Sri Lanka, so this is a motivation factor for me, to try and move on from strength to strength,'' he added.

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