Jermaine Blackwood, the former West Indies Test vice-captain, is determined to reclaim his place in the international squad by excelling in the upcoming first-class championship.
The 32-year-old, who has represented the West Indies in 56 Tests, was omitted from the current two-Test tour of Australia due to a prolonged period of underwhelming form, where he averaged 29.5 in 13 Tests over the past year-and-a-half.
Blackwood expressed his ambition to not only secure a spot in the Test team but also extend his reach to the One-Day International (ODI) setup. He stated, “I’m just looking to score the most runs and to dominate the four-day competition this year and get back into the Test team; it’s as simple as that.
“I have to get runs, and I know that, so I just have to go out there and do it. I always want to play ODIs, and once I get back into the West Indies team, I’m going to play ODIs cricket after that.”
Gearing up for the first-class championship
Blackwood is currently gearing up for the first-class championship, where he will be representing Jamaica Scorpions. The franchise is hopeful that Blackwood’s experience will contribute to a turnaround in their performance after finishing at the bottom of the table with 25.6 points in the previous season, without a single win. Blackwood performed well, averaging nearly 40 in his four innings during the five-match season.
Despite the team’s inexperience, Blackwood mentioned that preparations for the February 7 to April 20 campaign have progressed smoothly. He emphasized the challenges of four-day cricket and the importance of hard work, stating, “It’s hard work but the guys are putting in the hard work because four-day cricket is not easy. It’s going to be four long days, so we’re getting in all of the necessary hard work from now so that the guys can become used to a certain type of work so when they face it in competition, it will be a walk in the park for them.”
He also expressed confidence in the young team, saying, “Players are just identifying their roles in the team, but we have a young team. But not because we have a young team [means] we shouldn’t expect them to do well. These players that we have, these younger players, are very good in my eyes. I know that this four-day [competition], we’re going to see a much-improved team from last year.”
