Law urges Windies to make history
LONDON, England (CMC): HEAD COACH Stuart Law wants to see the resurgent West Indies build on their good work from Headingley and pull off something special in the third Test starting tomorrow at Lord’s.
Speaking yesterday, Law was his usual forthright self, indicating the Windies were looking to match England’s skill in the decisive match at the home of cricket.
The Caribbean lost the first Test in three days by an innings at Edgbaston, but hit back to win by five wickets in the second contest.
“I’m immensely proud of the boys ... to come out and produce what they did was an amazing turnaround,” the Australian said.
“Now we’ve reached Lord’s – the home of cricket – and everyone is excited and talking about what could be a great end to the series.”
He continued: “We did the hard work at Headingley, and we know only hard work will do it for us again here. Before the series, I told the players to make their own history, to chart their paths and to make a statement to the world that we can compete with the best.”
A win at Lord’s would hand the regional side their first series victory in England in nearly three decades and their first over England in eight years.
The victory at Headingley was the first Test win over England in 17 years and it came courtesy of 23-year-old stroke-maker Shai Hope, who scored a century in both innings as the visitors chased down 322 on the final day.
Law said that in Hope, the Windies had a “rock” on which they could build for the future.
“I remember sitting down next to him in the dressing room before the last day and saying ‘look, the plan is we’ll bat to tea, see where we are, and if we’ve got wickets we’ll work out if we’re going to have a go or not’,” the former Australia batsman said.
“He looked at me and I said ‘what’s wrong with that?’ He looked at me again, shook his head and shrugged his shoulders and I said ‘OK, what’s your plan?’
“‘We’re going to win’, he said. That’s God’s honest truth. And he went out and won the game. He’s a rock. He’s a guy with a lot of talent who looks very good at the crease. We hadn’t seen that in international cricket, but Headingley showcased his talent.”