CHADWICK Walton said the advice of captain and opening partner Christopher Gayle kept him positive as he blazed a half-century for Jamaica Tallawahs in their impressive nine-wicket victory over St Lucia Zouks at Sabina Park on Tuesday.

The Tallawahs raced to 159-1 off 16 overs thanks to Walton’s man-of-the-match knock of 76 runs off 48 balls. The left-hander Gayle, dropped on 28, was left unbeaten on 64 from 42 deliveries as the Zouks were found to be sloppy in the field on a number of occasions.

Earlier, the Zouks were asked to bat first after the Tallawahs won the toss.

The visitors accelerated toward the end of their innings to make 158-4 off the allotted 20 overs as former England batsman Kevin Pietersen thrashed 83 not out from the 57 deliveries he faced.

“Chris told me to just come out and back myself and play to the best of my ability, so I just supported the skipper,” Walton said in Tuesday night’s post-match television interview.

Heading into Tuesday’s encounter, Walton had scores of 23, 25 not out, 10 and eight.

But the approximately 9,000 spectators enjoying Sabina Park’s first official game at night after lights were installed at the venue last year clamoured as Walton and Gayle, who opened his big shoulders closer to the end, laid into the ineffective-looking Zouks’ bowling unit.

Fast bowler Fidel Edwards, who bowled with pace and hostility in his 1-33, forced Walton into a mis-timed pull, and the batsman was caught by Kemar Roach at mid-on.

Walton, 30, said the lively atmosphere at home helped.

“It is always good to give the crowd something to cheer about, and we came out and did that. Sabina Park has always been a haven for us, so we’d like to keep it that way,” he said.

The two added 100 runs in 72 balls, and ultimately shared in a first-wicket stand of 119 that laid the base for the massive win. It was the second time Walton and Gayle were partnering for a century stand this season, after battering the Zouks during an unbroken stand of 121 runs in the 10-wicket victory in Gros Islet on June 28.

Gayle said Walton’s aggression at the start took the pressure off, allowing the big left-handed batsman time to build his innings.

“The batting department, led by Chadwick, had a great start. I’m really happy because we spoke about these things in team meetings to try and bat as deep as possible and Chadwick did that,” the Tallawahs skipper said.

When St Lucia Zouks took first strike, they slumped to 27-3 after five overs and two balls, as left-arm medium pacer Krishmar Santokie, who ended with 2-29, accounted for Johnson Charles (naught) and Andre Fletcher (eight), and Jerome Taylor, who finished with 1-37, got rid of Ross Taylor (two).

Pietersen, put down on 42 by the diving wicketkeeper Walton, off the bowling of Taylor, orchestrated the recovery with a flurry of boundaries late on.

Darren Sammy, the captain of the Zouks, made 29 off 23 balls before he retired hurt shortly after being hit on the left hand by a lifting delivery from pacer Andre Russell. He has been ruled out of the rest of the 2015 CPL with a fracture to his second metacarpal.

Sammy said losing wickets at the top of the order put the Zouks on the back foot, but added that, after recovering to post what appeared a challenging total, the output in the field was disappointing.

“The way he [Pietersen] batted gave us a total that I thought was reasonable, but with that said…you got to take your chances. We created a couple chances early on, and if we had grabbed on it could have been a different ball game,” he said.

Gayle praised Santokie, but admitted that Pietersen gave the Zouks’ innings plenty of lift.

“With the new ball, getting wickets is always crucial and very important, and Santokie did that for us. KP came in and batted well, so we have to give credit there,” he said.

The Tallawahs are set to face Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel at Sabina Park today, starting at 6:00 pm.