Don’t discount England upset
WEST INDIES CAN CLAIM SHOCK WIN, SAYS LAW
FORMER West Indies head coach and Lancashire captain Stuart Law has warned England will be punished if they underestimate their Caribbean opponents.
England face West Indies in a three-Test series, which begins in Barbados on January 23.
Joe Root’s side are the overwhelming favourites to win the series, but Law, in charge of the West Indies team which won at Headingley in 2017 - their first victory on English soil in 17 years - says the visitors must be on top of their game.
“Look, don’t underestimate the home team,” said Law, who is preparing for his first season as Middlesex head coach. “There is a core group of senior players that have been there for a while now and proved that they can do it.
“A lot of that group played that Test match at Headingley, so if England aren’t on their game, West Indies have got the team to make an upset.
“It should be reasonably comfortable for England on paper and they go in as the red-hot favourites.
“But the underdogs have nothing to lose, and there are a few guys there with a point to prove, and opportunities to cement a place in the West Indies set-up for a long time, so I wouldn’t discount them.”
Last September, Law, 49, resigned from his West Indies post after less than two years in charge, before taking the helm at Middlesex, who he will lead against Lancashire in the Red Rose’s opening County Championship match of the season at Lord’s in April.
Law, who has coached Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at international level, played one Test and made 54 one-day international appearances for Australia, and boasted a firstclass average of 50.
Australia have fallen to fifth in the rankings following a disastrous 2018 - with just three wins in the calendar year, their worst in two decades while Steve Smith and David Warner were banned for 12 months following the ball-tampering scandal.
A host of former players, including Ian Chappell and Shane Warne, have been critical of the current Australia side, but Law added: “I got told a while ago that sport shouldn’t go in cycles - be strong for a period of time and then weaken - but if you look around the world that is how it is. Everyone has got an opinion at the moment. Some of them are nowhere near the mark, some are spot on.
“Australia has got the talent, but we have just lost track of what is important. The Test players don’t play club cricket when they are away from international duties. They are wrapped up in cotton wool.
“Steve Smith and David Warner, playing club cricket this summer, has not only given them an idea about what life is really about, but also helped the young kids coming through to improve.
“They are still looked up to in Australia as cricketers, and they are two very fine players, and Australia could do worse than getting them straight back in the side.”