England's captain Andrew Strauss smiles as he responds to a question during a press conference ahead of the first cricket Test match at Sabina Park, starting this morning. West Indies' captain Chris Gayle (centre) and coach John Dyson react. - AP

West Indies skipper, Chris Gayle, is confident of the team's readiness for today's opening Test against England at Sabina Park.

The 29-year-old opener stated that the team's main focus was to concentrate on the game and produce positive results.

According to Gayle, the game "is very important to the team and a good start would do well for us coming off the New Zealand series".

He added: "New Zealand wasn't a bad series. I think this England series will definitely determine where we are heading," Gayle said.

The hard-hitting left-handed batsman believes the England team may prove to be better opponents than New Zealand, so there are challenges the team will have to face. However, he noted: "I am sure all the guys are looking forward to it and definitely want to put up a good fight against the Englishmen."

Optimism

In 2004, the visitors thoroughly thrashed the West Indies 4-0 under the captaincy of Brian Lara. This time, though, Gayle is optimistic that the tables will turn.

"The last encounter was not a pretty one here. A lot of things happened in that game, but hopefully this time around it won't be the same. We just have to take it step by step and play some decent, basic cricket and match up with our opponents," he said.

Meanwhile Gayle expects batsman Xavier Marshall, who did not perform up to par in New Zealand, to raise his standard in this series.

"Marshall did not have the best series in New Zealand, but we are not going to kill him too much. If he gets the opportunity we believe he will turn it around," Gayle said.