Stuart Law hopes stinging criticism will motivate players when West Indies face England

West Indies coach Stuart Law hopes stinging criticism of his players will motivate them.

Experts are predicting a torrid time for the tourists, ranked eighth in the Test rankings, in the three-match series against England.

However, the Windies held England to a 1-1 series draw in the Caribbean in 2015 after being described as “mediocre” by England chief Colin Graves and Law is hoping the negativity around his team will work in their favour again.

“That [Graves’ criticism] is in the past,” said the former batsman who played one Test for Australia. “You can’t keep looking back - and if you do that, you can’t move forward.

“We’ve got other reasons to play well here and that’s not one of them.

“There’s been a lot said about this cricket team and that is motivation for them. We’re looking forward - let’s rewrite that history.”

Law believes captain Jason Holder can get the best out of the tourists here and for many more campaigns to come.

“He takes it with a pinch of salt, the things said about him and this team and uses it to drive him and them forward,” he said. “He’s got experience. He’s done it at this level and I’m looking forward to how he performs.

“It is a lot of responsibility and he does it with fantastic integrity. He’s doing everything to make sure he captains this side for 10 or 15 years.”