West Indies skipper Darren Sammy hasbrushed aside suggestions that Bangladesh were walkovers in the two-Test serieswhich the Caribbean cricketing side won convincingly.
Though both matches went the distance, Bangladesh's batting suffered final daycollapses on either occasion to send the side to defeat, reports CMC.
Sammy said Bangladesh had been competitive in the series, pointing out that hisbowlers did not have straightforward tasks.
"We had to work for most of our wickets and the pitches were really goodfor batting," he argued.
"We stuck to our plans for most of the time. In the first innings inDhaka, our bowlers didn't hit the areas. From the second innings and bothinnings in this Test, we bowled much better. Bangladesh, like us, are naturallyaggressive but our batsmen were more patient and let the bowlers come to them,not try to go searching for runs. Once you applied yourself on these pitches,you were bound to get runs.
"We have a lot of respect for the Bangladesh players but we alwaysbelieved that we could come here and achieve our goal of winning the two Tests,so we are just happy to have accomplished this."
Bangladesh pushed West Indies in both Tests but lacked the killer instinct intheir batting when it mattered most.
They led on first innings in the first Test in Dhaka, amassing 556 in responseto West Indies' first innings 527 for four declared. And even after West Indiestumbled to 273 all out to leave them with a target of 245, Bangladesh's battingcollapsed dismally for 167 to hand the tourists victory.
The Tigers also shone in both innings of the Test here but the first inningsdeficit of 261 proved too much to come back from, after the Windies piled upover 600 runs in their first innings.
The West Indies have now won four Tests on the trot dating back to the cleansweep against New Zealand in the summer, and Sammy said the settled nature ofthe squad was playing a role in this success.
"The guys in this team played against New Zealand and were in England,with Chris Gayle returning to the team, so it's a more settled squad, just likeour Twenty20 team is quite settled so is our One-day International team,"Sammy pointed out.
"The more we play together on the cricket field, the more we know abouteach other. The most encouraging thing for me is that when we turn up, we knowwhat to expect from the different players. You know what Tino Best will giveyou, or when Marlon Samuels goes out to bat and he starts his innings, you knowwhat you will get from him, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and all of the otherplayers.
"We also have guys who continue to play domestic cricket at home whoperform and will challenge for places in the team. The nucleus of the team isquite settled, but the guys have been performing consistently in the last sixto 12 months, so it is a good sign for us."
The series win caps off a mixed year for the West Indies that saw them fail towin a single match on their tour of England and also go down 0-2 in athree-Test series against Australia in the Caribbean.
Sammy said his side would continue to work towards playing the quality cricketthey knew was possible.
"We will continue to instil that work ethic in the dressing room, andcontinue to go out there and do what all the West Indies fans want us to do -play a brand of cricket that the world loves to see and be consistent and tryto win more matches," he said.
"It's a good feeling when you are winning, and it's even better when youplan and you go out and execute and see your teammates perform consistently. Itwas good being a part of this Test series and to see the little steps we aretaking in bettering ourselves and moving up the ladder in Tests."