Jermaine Blackwood, the previous West Indies Check vice-captain, is decided to reclaim his place within the worldwide squad by excelling within the upcoming first-class championship.
The 32-year-old, who has represented the West Indies in 56 Exams, was omitted from the present two-Check tour of Australia attributable to a chronic interval of underwhelming kind, the place he averaged 29.5 in 13 Exams over the previous year-and-a-half.
Blackwood expressed his ambition to not solely safe a spot within the Check workforce but additionally lengthen his attain to the One-Day Worldwide (ODI) setup. He acknowledged, “I’m simply seeking to rating essentially the most runs and to dominate the four-day competitors this 12 months and get again into the Check workforce; it’s so simple as that.
“I’ve to get runs, and I do know that, so I simply need to go on the market and do it. I all the time need to play ODIs, and as soon as I get again into the West Indies workforce, I’m going to play ODIs cricket after that.”
Gearing up for the first-class championship
Blackwood is at the moment gearing up for the first-class championship, the place he might be representing Jamaica Scorpions. The franchise is hopeful that Blackwood’s expertise will contribute to a turnaround of their efficiency after ending on the backside of the desk with 25.6 factors within the earlier season, and not using a single win. Blackwood carried out nicely, averaging almost 40 in his 4 innings through the five-match season.
Regardless of the workforce’s inexperience, Blackwood talked about that preparations for the February 7 to April 20 marketing campaign have progressed easily. He emphasised the challenges of four-day cricket and the significance of laborious work, stating, “It’s laborious work however the guys are placing within the laborious work as a result of four-day cricket isn’t simple. It’s going to be 4 lengthy days, so we’re getting in all the essential laborious work from now in order that the fellows can grow to be used to a sure kind of labor so after they face it in competitors, it will likely be a stroll within the park for them.”
He additionally expressed confidence within the younger workforce, saying, “Gamers are simply figuring out their roles within the workforce, however we have now a younger workforce. However not as a result of we have now a younger workforce [means] we shouldn’t anticipate them to do nicely. These gamers that we have now, these youthful gamers, are superb in my eyes. I do know that this four-day [competition], we’re going to see a much-improved workforce from final 12 months.”
