Gayle very happy

ICC World Twenty20
England 09

England skipper Paul Collingwood (L) walks away as the West Indies team members celebrate after knocking the hosts out of the ICC World Twenty20 at The Oval in London on Monday.Photo: AFPAfp, London

West Indies captain Chris Gayle was a happy man as his side atoned in part for their "disaster tour" of England by going through to the semifinals of the World Twenty20 at the hosts' expense.

Set a revised target of 80 in nine overs, West Indies beat England by five wickets in a rain-affected match at the Oval here on Monday.

They won with four balls to spare after a stand of 37 between senior batsmen Ramnaresh Sarwan (19 not out) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (17 not out) saw them recover from 45 for five.

This victory was especially sweet as West Indies had been on the end of drubbings by England in both Test and one-day series earlier in this English season, defeats that called into question their character and commitment.

Opening batsman Gayle said: "It was very satisfying. They had had the better of us.

"We are happy to be in the semifinal after our disaster tour of England. We wanted to give our supporters something to cheer about. It's been a long hard summer for us, so to be in the semifinal is brilliant."

Before they batted, the West Indies held England to 161 for six off 20 overs and Gayle said the home side had paid for a lack of power hitting down the order after star batsman Kevin Pietersen fell for a relatively modest 31.

"The game was won and lost in that middle period. They lost Pietersen, they lost crucial wickets at crucial times. They needed a couple of hitters down there would have been really handy.

"To restrict them to 161 was a good effort from our bowlers.

"We didn't then have the start to our innings we wanted but we couldn't have had a better situation into which to have two experienced batsmen at the crease and they brought it home for us."

The West Indies scored 13 runs off both the seventh and eighth overs, bowled by England seamers James Anderson and Stuart Broad, and Sarwan said: "We knew we were one big over from getting to a run-a-ball.

"I always believe in myself and my team-mates. The most important thing was that I was calm and I had Shiv at the other end," he added.

The Oval has been the scene of some of the West Indies' greatest triumphs in England, including their 2004 Champions Trophy final win over the hosts.

And they could well be back at the south London ground, where they have traditionally enjoyed strong support from the local Afro-Caribbean community, for Friday's semifinal.

Last year Gayle led the Stanford Superstars, a West Indies side in all but name, to a Twenty20 win over England in Antigua in a match where his team received one million dollars each for their victory.

Asked if this was better, a smiling Gayle replied: "Definitely, you are just trying to get me into trouble now."