Law is right to use criticism to lift his side

IT LOOKS as if West indies coach Stuart Law is doing what i did when i was a player and using external opinions to motivate his side. Good on him.

i wrote a Sportsmail column after the fourth day at Headingley, when the West indies’ discipline had started to slip a bit after three excellent days.

My point was that to win a Test match or a series you have to keep your standards up for five days — and for more than one game.

The same basic advice applies to England too. it is why they have so often failed to back up victory with another.

i made no comment on how i thought West indies might fare on the final day, and i take my hat off to Kraigg Brathwaite and Shai Hope.

you can react in one of two ways to criticism — ignore it, or use it to motivate your side. i used to do that myself, so it would be twofaced of me to turn around and say Law should not have reacted.

He did the same with a piece Curtly Ambrose wrote in this newspaper after West indies lost at Edgbaston — and, in fairness, he got the response he wanted.

in fact, i admire the way Law stood up for his players after they lost 19 wickets in a day. He could have had a pop, but he stuck by them.

But he must realise, deep down, that if his side are going to move forward in Test cricket, they can’t have the wild swings they’ve had over the last few games.

They need to keep their discipline over longer periods.

Like West indies, England have to get rid of the inconsistency that keeps holding them back.

And a big part of the reason is that they keep finding themselves 50 for three. Joe Root and Ben Stokes can sometimes dig them out of trouble. But when they don’t, a Test match can be lost.

it was good to see Mark Stoneman and Dawid Malan make runs in the second innings at Headingley, but it’s important that Tom Westley proves he’s got the game to succeed at No 3.

As i’ve said before, i believe Root should be at No 3, so that he’s not always coming in at 30 for two. But Criticised: Law came under fire given that England look as if they won’t go down that route, it’s up to Westley to build on his impressive debut against South Africa at The Oval.

i see a guy who has maybe let the analysis of his leg-side game get to him. He now seems to be trying to play straighter, which means he’s sacrificing the strength that got him into the Test team in the first place.

As a result, he’s chasing scoring opportunities in a slightly weaker area on the off side — in the second innings at Headingley he nicked off after a big drive.

But trying to reinvent yourself in the middle of your second Test series is a dangerous business. Westley has to try and approach this third Test as if he’s playing for Essex. if he wants to hit a ball on off stump through midwicket, he should back himself to do it.

England also have to bowl better than they did in the second Test. Jimmy Anderson was fine, but Stuart Broad needs to rediscover his swing away from the righthanders. With the exception of the final morning, he wasn’t on top of his game at Headingley.

Moeen Ali is another who bowls better to left-handers.

That was fine against South Africa, who had a few in their lineup, but West indies have got more right-handers.

Then there’s Chris Woakes, who looked short of a gallop after returning from injury. England were right to select him because of his record over the past 18 months.

But he was clearly not ready, and you feel their attack will be bolstered by the fact that the impressive Toby Roland-Jones will return on his home ground.

They need him — and the others — to step up. The time for inconsistency is over.