CaribWorldNews, ADELAIDE, Australia, Thurs. Dec. 3, 2009: The critics may be counting the West Indies cricket team out of competition but its captain has chosen optimism as his friend.

Jamaican-born skipper, Chris Gayle, said Wednesday his team will be  giving `100 percent and more` when they come up against Australia in the second Test match at Adelaide Oval on Friday or 8 p.m. Eastern Caribbean Time Thursday night.

While acknowledging that the team did not play `up to par` in the first Test at the Gabba in Brisbane, Gayle insists it is not fair to tag his players as no hopers.

He also dismissed suggestions that the West Indies should be relegated from the top tier of international cricket.

`Since we arrived here in Australia we have been training really hard and the players are working around the clock,` said Gayle. `We were below par in the first Test but we have had some long discussions and meetings and we are looking and are learning from our mistakes and correcting our errors. We are not expecting any favors from anyone. We know it is hard work and we know we have to work hard.`

Gayle also added that experienced middle order batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan is recovering from a back strain which put him out of the first Test. He batted for 20 minutes in the nets on Wednesday and looked comfortable and Gayle expects him to play in the second Test.

`Sarwan seems to be coming along OK and hopefully he will be a good chance to play which will really help to lift our batting group.