"It is more about winning on this particular pitch which was difficult. I think for us, it was one of our best Test match wins because we had to be really dedicated and committed to the task," Waugh said after the match.

Following their victory, the Australian players huddled in mid-pitch to celebrate the result, which Waugh attributes to the effort that was put in by the players.

"I thought every ball, we kept going forward. It was really a credit to all the players the way we won this Test match because it was difficult.

"Winning a difficult Test match makes it more enjoyable and you show your emotion after the game," noted the 37-year-old veteran cricketer.

Waugh said he was "always pretty confident" of winning with the West Indies starting the day on 187 for three, still 90 runs in arrears.

"Flat, docile wickets as benign as this one, it is very difficult to win," Waugh noted.

"The first wicket (Ramnaresh Sarwan) was crucial because that really put the West Indies on the back foot and after that, Brian Lara went pretty early and from there on, we knew that the patience was the keyword and eventually we would take wickets," Waugh said.

The victory carried Waugh level on 36 wins with former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, the most by a captain in Test cricket but Waugh prefers to share his accolade with his players.

"It is nice recognition. I think it is something for the team to celebrate, not myself personally," a modest Waugh said.

"It's been a successful year and hopefully the guys will continue it," added Waugh, who has played a record 159 Tests.

Despite beating the West Indies by big margins in all three Tests of the four-match series, Waugh said the Caribbean cricketers are showing improvement.

"They are a pretty good side. They are on the way up. They are a lot of people who are pessimistic because they are three-nil down but I think they have shown a lot of improvement since the last time I beat them in Australia (5-0)," Waugh remarked.

"They are one of the few sides in world cricket on the way up so I think as a West Indies supporter, you've got to have patience and give these guys time because there is a lot of talent in the side," Waugh added.

Factbox on Australia's Steve Waugh
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (Reuters) - Factbox on Australian captain Steve Waugh as he joined Clive Lloyd as the most successful Test captain in history with Australia's nine-wicket victory over West Indies yesterday.

Born: June 2, 1965, Sydney. Right-hand bat, occasional right-arm medium-pace bowler. Test debut: v India, Melbourne, December 1985. Holds record for most Test match appearances with 159. 10 179 runs av 49.65. 91 wickets at 36.16.

Waugh is one of the most powerful and respected figures in the game, having led Australia to a world record streak of 16 consecutive Test wins and guided Australia to World Cup victory in 1999.

He made his Test debut in December 1985, aged 20, and has been captain since 1999.

Waugh has led Australia 48 times for 36 victories, a strike-rate unmatched by players who have captained in 15 or more matches.

With Australia's nine-wicket victory in the third Test against West Indies, Waugh equalled West Indian Clive Lloyd for most Test wins as captain. Lloyd's tally came from 74 matches.

He has scored 30 centuries, surpassing Don Bradman (29) in the third Test against West Indies with 115 in his only innings. He trails only Indian duo Sunil Gavaskar (34) and Sachin Tendulkar (31).

Is only the third man alongside Australia's Allan Border and Gavaskar, to surpass 10 000 Test runs -- a feat he achieved in the fifth Ashes Test against England in January.

With his century in Bridgetown he surpassed Gavaskar (10 122) as the second-highest Test run-scorer.

In a career of many highs, some of Waugh's greatest moments were his 200 against West Indies at Sabina Park in 1995, twin centuries against England at Old Trafford in 1997 and his daring 120 against South Africa in a must-win match at the 1999 World Cup.

Waugh has also featured in many high-scoring partnerships including an unbroken 464 with his brother Mark for New South Wales in Perth in 1990-91 and another of 385 with Greg Blewett in the Johannesburg Test of 1996-97.

Waugh also played 325 limited-overs internationals for Australia but lost his place in the team in February 2002.