'I'm not going anywhere' - Gayle

will not quit as West Indies captain but acknowledges the three-day defeat in Brisbane was "downright embarrassing". Gayle, writing a column in the Courier Mail, said he knows some critics think he is not right for the job.

"I've got a message for those people - I'm not going anywhere," he said. "I have been chosen as captain and it's a job I will continue to do to the best of my ability. My heart is in it and I feel really strongly that I am the right man to lead the West Indies through this challenging period."

West Indies were beaten by an innings and 65 runs at the Gabba after being dismissed for 228 and 187 in the opening game of the three-match series. The second Test starts in Adelaide on Friday and the tourists will be without the fast bowler Jerome Taylor, who is due to be sent home with a back injury sustained on the opening day.

''Jerome Taylor is not available for the rest of the series," the manager Joel Garner told the Age. We have spoken about it, and the selectors will make a determination [about a replacement]."

The problem adds to the issues for West Indies that include coming together after a long players' strike, which led to a Test series loss to Bangladesh, and an apparent preference in some of the big names for lucrative limited-overs tournaments instead of Tests. Gayle said this year he wouldn't be so sad if the five-day format died.

However, Gayle insists he has the support of his struggling squad. "A lot has been happening over the past eight months but I am not into negativity," Gayle said. "Negative energy is the last thing we need right now because we are just starting to try to regroup as a team. With my captaincy coming under fire, the really heartening thing for me is to see how I have respect from each and every one of the players in our squad. It makes my job easier to know that each individual supports me and it helps me get the best out of the players."

Gayle said the side had to be honest about its failures at the Gabba. "To lose 15 wickets in a day on a beautiful batting track is simply not good enough and there are no excuses for that," he said. "We all know where we went wrong and after thinking about it for a while and coming up with some answers we have to try to get it out of our system as quickly as possible. We can't afford to be too hard on ourselves, the Test series is still up for grabs and we have to be strong and positive if we are a chance of beating Australia."