Gayle: 'We need to get a jump on the South Africans'

Well, the Test series against South Africa is over and unfortunately we were beaten in the final match in Durban by an innings and 100 runs.

There’s really no point in sulking over our performance. I think by now everyone knows what we did wrong and where our plans fell apart. Suffice to say that when any team is dismissed for 139 quickly on the opening day of a Test – and then faces a first-innings deficit of more than 400 runs – it would take a miracle to escape defeat.

South Africa batted us out of the game and again, in our second turn at the crease, we failed with the bat, though we did better than in the first innings. There’s no excuse and I don’t intend to make any. As I’ve been saying all along, consistency is the key. If we fail to execute our game plan then we won’t win.

Still, as we shift our attention to the five ODIs, I can say that there are a number of positives which I will take from the Test matches. Overall, I thought we put up a good fight and gave South Africa something to think about. Winning in Port Elizabeth and taking a lead in the three Tests really surprised them. We also fought well in Cape Town and kept ourselves in the game until the fourth day when it ended.

If fans are honest they will admit that they didn’t expect us to perform as well as we did in the first two matches. I need to give the guys credit for showing that we can compete against the best in international cricket. While there are clearly improvements still to be made we’ve shown that we can reach the required standard. I also want to hail Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Marlon Samuels for their gutsy batting at various times. When our bowlers got the ball in the right spot, they proved a force to be reckoned with as well.

Of course, it was frustrating for me to be restricted to the pavilion for the third Test with a broken thumb and a sore right hamstring. I really wanted to be out on the field with my team-mates. However, I know it’s best for me to recover fully before playing competitive cricket again. Right now, I’m just doing some light jogging and continuing my treatment for the hamstring ailment. I’m not going to take any chances and get re-injured so I won’t be playing unless I’m totally fit and ready to do so.

The team must now focus on the abbreviated form of the game for the next three weeks, with the second of our two Twenty20 Internationals against South Africa to be held on Wednesday at New Wanderers in Johannesburg and five one-dayers thereafter. We need to get a jump on the South Africans and it would be good to set the tone for the series by winning the second Twenty20 as we did the first match back in mid-December.

Buoyed by their Test success, I know South Africa will come at us very hard and we have to be able to keep our spirits and confidence high. Once we do that, and perform well on the field, I believe we can come away victorious.