The Editor, Sir:

Congratulations to the inspirational and talented leader Chris Gayle and the battle-ready Windies' troops for their historic win over the seemingly unstoppable Proteas team!

The feeling of our first Test victory in South Africa is inexplicable. Calling around to a few diehard Windies fans locally and others in the West Indies diaspora, the feeling is simply indescribable.

This victory must be viewed against the background of a string of embarrassing defeats against lesser teams over the past ten years - even with greats such as: Brian Lara, Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose, Richie Richardson, and the absence of the world class Ramanaresh Sarwan.

Thank you

Our beloved Windies team with a young, but obviously motivated and talented group of players, has made us extremely proud and elated and we just want to thank the guys for fighting like warriors to defeat the awesome South Africans.

All we ask for going forward in the 2008 is consistency, continuous improvement in the technical and mental aspects of the game, professionalism, fight and determination. This kind of dogged and ruthless performance can only set the stage for these elements to fall into place over time. We will lose matches in the future, maybe the next Test, maybe the current series; however, what we ask for are fierce fights and closely contested battles. Over time we will win the WAR!

We wish the team the very best for 2008 and beyond.

I am, etc.,

DELROY SCARLETT

dhsscarlett@yahoo.com

St. Andrew.