Jamaica’s Blackwood makes Windies Test debut
The 22-year-old is one of three changes made to the West Indies XI from the first Test, with opener Kraigg Brathwaite and fast bowler Shannon Gabriel also included.
Blackwood has been rewarded for a rich vein of form which saw him plunder 611 runs during the Regional first class season and follow up with hundreds in each of the two recent four-day ‘Tests’ against Bangladesh A.
New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat on the opening day of the second Test and have made one change, including Hamish Rutherford for Peter Fulton.
They lead the three-Test series 1-0 after winning the first Test at Sabina Park last Wednesday by 186 runs inside four days.
“We’ve looked at some footage for the last couple of days. We talked about the opposition, how patient they were as bowlers. They ran in and bowled in good areas. I think we as batters need to spend more time at the crease and hopefully we can do that this game. We know they may come with a different attack depending on the pitch but we are prepared for that as well.”
West Indies batted poorly in both innings of the Jamaica Test, posting totals of 262 and 216, while the Black Caps amassed over 508 in their first innings, to put them under pressure.
While the visitors batted slowly, Ramdin said there was much to be learnt from that experience.
“There’s not really pressure but in terms of our batting, we need to get our batters right. First innings will be very important. In the last Test, if we had gotten 75 to 80 runs more in our first innings it would have been quite a different game,” Ramdin noted.
“They wore us down. They batted with a lot of patience. On the first and second day I thought it was a very good batting track and the third and fourth day was when the ball did a bit in terms of spin … their spinners exploited it more than us.”
Though trailing in the series, Ramdin said the players were all still highly motivated.
“We’re looking forward to it. All of the players are keyed up. The game in Jamaica has gone and we’re looking forward to this game,” he said.
SQUADS:
WEST INDIES – Denesh Ramdin (captain), Chris Gayle, Kraigg Brathwaite, Kirk Edwards, Darren Bravo, Jermaine Blackwood, Leon Johnson, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Kemar Roach, Jerome Taylor, Sulieman Benn, Shane Shillingford, Jason Holder, Shannon Gabriel.
NEW ZEALAND – Brendon McCullum (captain), Tom Latham, Peter Fulton, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Jimmy Neesham, B J Watling, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Mark Craig, Trent Boult, Corey Anderson, Hamish Rutherford, Luke Ronchi, Neil Wagner.
