'My proudest moment,' says Gilchrist

Australia's acting captain Adam Gilchrist paid tribute to his teammates for their support and commitment after his side had beaten the West Indies by five wickets in the third cricket Test at Adelaide Oval on Tuesday.

The home country took only 38 minutes on the fifth day to hit the 32 extra runs they needed to wrap up the game, retain the Frank Worrell Trophy by establishing a 3-0 lead in the five-match series and extend their world record of successive Test wins to 13.

After being set a victory target of 130, Australia made 130 for five, with Damien Martyn (34 not out) and Gilchrist (10 not out) at the crease when Martyn hit the winning runs.

While Australia were celebrating yet another high moment in the greatest sequence of success in the 123-year history of Tests, the once mighty Windies were reflecting on their 16th defeat in their past 18 away games -- one of the worst runs in the sport.

Gilchrist, who was deputising for the injured Steve Waugh said: "I am absolutely thrilled -- it's the proudest moment of my cricket career.

"It is not necessarily a load off my mind. I believe in this team. We all believe in each other.

"It was a really terrific win. It was a harder Test than any we have had this summer.

"We were up against it from the time I lost the toss, but the guys never lost direction or spirit. The belief was always there. That is one of the strengths of our team."

Gilchrist, the first Australian wicketkeeper for 32 years to captain his country, said the closeness of the game indicated how well Australia had played in the previous two Tests in Brisbane and Perth, both won by innings margins.

"A lot of the focus has been on the West Indies and how poorly they have played," he said. "People have said they cannot compete. But they have proved they can. They have shown they have world class cricketers in their team. Obviously Brian Lara is the main one.

"I think this shows how well our guys have performed in the earlier games, and I believe a lot of credit should go to them for that."

Gilchrist admitted he was nervous when he went out to bat on the final morning after the dismissal of Justin Langer for 48, leaving Australia needing another 19 runs with five wickets left.

"It was the most nervous I have been in my Test career," he said. "But I felt I just had to keep calm, with such a small amount needed.

"The only fearful factor was if we got one or two brutal deliveries, which could have come along on that wicket."

West Indies captain Jimmy Adams said:"This was an improvement, but obviously it was not the result we wanted. We have to sit down again and look at where we went wrong.

"Hopefully, we can build on what happened here and take it into the next Test, starting in Melbourne on Boxing Day.

"We were going well until we mucked up in our second innings on the fourth day.

"This is the difference between the top teams in the world and those who are not.

"We just didn't put enough runs on the board to give our bowlers a fair chance. A target of 130 was not enough. We believed 230 to 260 was the lead we needed."

Adams said his players would engage in a demanding program in the week to the Melbourne Test. He was hopeful it would be possible to arrange an unscheduled one-day match to give players extra sharpness.

The man of the match award went to Australia's match-winner Colin Miller, a veteran 36-year-old off-spinner, who captured five scalps in each innings for a match return of 10-113 -- the first time he has captured 10 wickets in a Test.

Miller, despite his advanced years, now looks certain to be a member of the Australian squad to tour India early next year and to travel to England for the Ashes series soon after.

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Mail Cricket Editor