LEFT: Dellmar photo
West Indies pacer Daren Powell holds a bottle of champagne after winning the Man of the Match award in the final one-dayer against England last week Saturday, to give the Windies a 2-1 victory in the three-match series.
RIGHT: File: Gayle

DUBLIN, Ireland (CMC):

Captain Chris Gayle said Thursday West Indies' victory over Scotland in the quadrangular series was never in question, despite a batting slump which saw them lose quick wickets during their run chase.

Pursuing a target of 165 from 30 overs in a rain-hit encounter at Clontarf Cricket Ground, West Indies lost five wickets for 13 runs in the space of 16 balls, tumbling from 120 for one to 133 for six, before recovering to win by four wickets under the Duckworth/Lewis method.

Cannot take for granted

"[It was] never in doubt, but I guess you guys see what I'm talking about when you are playing against these teams," said Gayle, who steered West Indies to safety with an unbeaten 85 from 94 balls. "You cannot take them for granted. You see how hard Scotland played today. You have to give credit to them, they really played well. The spinners (Majid Haq and Glenn Rogers) did a pretty good job. With another spinner, we might have been in a difficult position but we kept our calm and cool. It's good to get it out of the way."

Scotland, batting first after being put in, reached 152 for seven after rain forced a reduction in the allocation of overs.

Navdeep Poonia top-scored with 40, while Neil McCallum hit a breezy 27 from 23 balls, to lead Scotland's charge.

Pacers Fidel Edwards and Daren Powell continued their fine form, finishing with two wickets apiece. Gayle then lashed eight fours and three sixes in his knock which saw him add 95 for the first wicket with Devon Smith (32), before the unnerving middle-order collapse engineered by off-spinner Haq (4-28).

"It is something thatwe have stressed. When we are batting we tend to lose wickets rapidly. It is something we are trying to improve on," Gayle said. "It's not going to happen overnight. It is up to the individual really to assess the conditions as quickly as possible. You should be able to see it from the outside, what's going on and you should be able to make the necessary adjustments when you come in to bat."

Determined performance

Gayle said he had not been surprised by Scotland's deter-mined performance.

"No surprise there. They are here to win as well. It's not going to be a rollover with any team at all," Gayle said. "I give credit to all the Scotland guys. They really put us under a bit of pressure but we stuck to the task and came out of the game with a win in the end."

The win was the second for the regional team and they play their final game of the tournament today when they face hosts Ireland.