By Scott Heinrich

Giles deservedly celebrated his champagne moment at Lord's

Like a yo-yo, opinion on Ashley Giles goes up and down with great frequency.

The England spinner's stock seems to vary by the Test.

He's either not worth his salt or a key member of the side, as he is now regarded again after his Man of the Match effort in the first Test win over West Indies at Lord's.

Giles is sensitive to criticism, which has come in equal measure from fans and the media. He has admitted he almost quit last year because of it.

But he is surviving, even flourishing, as Test cricketer by riding the knocks and letting his bowling do the talking.

As a left-arm spinner who was showered with as many bouquets as brickbats in his England career, Phil Tufnell knows Giles' plight better than anyone.

"Giles comes in for a bit of criticism but you're always going to get that as a spinner I'm afraid," Tufnell tells BBC Sport.

"They always cop it a bit more than the seamers. They're the first ones to be looked at when things don't go well."

Giles' international career was taking off when Tufnell's ended in a blaze of mediocrity with figures of 1-173 in The Oval Test of the 2001 Ashes.

Giles tries his best all of the time, and sometimes it's just your day Ex-England left-armer Phil Tufnell

The two have more in common than their natural bowling arm and reputation as jovial team men with big hearts. In a 42-Test career Tufnell averaged 37.7, just 0.9 runs fewer per wicket than Giles in his 37 matches to date.

"One thing I learned is that when it's your day, you make the most of it and don't let the ball out of your hands," Tufnell adds.

"He's a good, hard-working, honest cricketer. I'm sure he's a good team member in the dressing room.

"But England have a good all-round team spirit at the moment where everybody seems to be feeding off each other."

Giles made sure he lapped up the euphoria of his career-best match figures of 9-210 at the ground Tufnell played many times on during his time with Middlesex.

He exploited the foot marks made by both teams' pace bowlers to torment the Windies' battalion of left-handers on the final day.

Giles claimed Lara as he ran through the Windies on day five

"It does help when there are rough patches there and you're bowling to a team full of lefties, but you've still got to do it and still put it in the right areas," Tufnell argues.

"Giles bowled very well. He finished the job and did his bit after England got runs on the board in the first innings.

"When the conditions are in your favour with some nice rough outside the left-hander's off-stump, it's about doing your job which Giles did."

One critic who was made to eat his words was Test Match Special commentator Henry Blofeld, who in the past has adorned Giles with the unflattering moniker of 'the wheelie bin'.

"In this match he may not have quite made the leap to Hedley Verity status, but he has certainly left wheelie-binnery far behind," Blofeld wrote in a column for The Independent.

Giles may have silenced his doubters for now, but neither he nor Tufnell will be shocked to see them back when things are not so rosy for England.