India vs West Indies: Injustice if we haven’t learnt from this series, says Stuart Law

Despite a crushing 3-1 loss to follow up a 2-0 drubbing against India in the Tests, West Indies head coach Stuart Law reiterated that it was a great learning curve for the young side that is only bound to get better. After pulling off a shock win over India in the third game to tie the series 1-1, West Indies have been dismal in the last two outings with the game in Thiruvananthapuram seeming a hapless surrender.

“We had players pull out before the tour started. It wasn’t planned the way it was. But the youngsters that came in got the opportunity at the top of the order. I would have thought that playing here in India, on some of the batting paradises we have seen, there would have been a few more runs scored. As you saw in game two and game three, we have learnt a lot. If we have not, we have done injustice. It is time to put that learning into action,” Law said.

Law, whose tenure with the West Indies team will end after their tour to Bangladesh in November, nonetheless praised the batting duo of Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer who were responsible for nearly 43 per cent of the runs scored by the visitors in the series.

“Shai hope has showed his class and skill and as has young Hetmyer. They scored heavily in a couple of games which is good to see,” he said. “Jason Holder still proves he is one of our better batsmen and also one of our better bowlers. (Obed) McCoy, who was due to play the game but pulled out this morning due to a side injury, is still raw, learning his craft and (has) showed some promise. Oshane Thomas showed some real pace in swinging the ball.”

With just around seven months to go for the World Cup, Law further said that although a few players are bound to get a go-ahead for the quadrennial event, others need to set the bar higher with several senior and well-established players set to come back. The only concern that he pointed out with the young bunch was that he felt that although the youngsters have the required skill set, they still need to work on their temperament and learn to make decisions under pressure.

The visitors will face India in three T20Is starting November 4 for the final leg of the tour.