Lead selector Randolph Nelson says relieving Jermaine Blackwood of the Jamaica Scorpions captaincy will give the batsman the opportunity to focus on his individual game as he looks to make his way back into the West Indies Test team.

Blackwood, 32, led the Scorpions for the first three rounds of the regional four-day cricket tournament in February.

Their next encounter is against West Indies Academy at Sabina Park in Kingston, scheduled for March 13-16.

Blackwood’s replacement as skipper is 29-year-old batsman Brandon King, who missed the opening three matches because of his engagement in the West Indies white-ball tour of Australia and participation in the Bangladesh Premier League. King captained Jamaica Tallawahs during the 2023 Caribbean Premier League.

The Scorpions began the four-day campaign with a loss to Windward Islands Volcanoes at Sabina Park, followed by victory over cellar team Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) and defeat to Barbados Pride at the same venue.

Blackwood, sidelined from the Test team after a poor run of form and eager to catch the attention of West Indies selectors ahead of the tour to England this summer, has struggled in the regional four-day tournament, with scores of 14, 16, 8, 18 and 0.

Brandon King (Photo: AFP)

His leadership of the Scorpions has also been called into question, with some criticising his decisions relating to field placements and his use of bowlers.

Nelson suggested the pressure might have been too much for the former West Indies vice-captain.

“The selectors believe the team will be best served — in terms of the direction we want the team to go — by another captain. As a result, we have asked Jermaine to focus more on his batting so that he can force himself back into the West Indies team,” he told the
Jamaica Observer.

“We have asked Brandon King to take over the reins as captain of Jamaica Scorpions,” Nelson added, noting that King is expected to be available for the Scorpions for the remaining four matches this season.

He said King’s return should boost the batting unit, which has been inconsistent.

“The top order hasn’t clicked as yet as we would have hoped. Brandon in the top order certainly adds some oomph and we expect and hope that he will come with some runs,” Nelson said.

The Scorpions will, however, lose the services of 38-year-old opener Chadwick Walton — the team’s only century maker and leading batsman with a 242-run tally this season — as he takes up franchise cricket obligations overseas.

“It’s a loss for us because we expected him [Walton] to carry his form through the rest of the games, [though] Brandon King will replace him adequately. But it would have been good to have both of them to support the top order with their experience and skill. But I still expect [the team] to compete and do well in the games to come,” the chief selector explained.

The Scorpions are without out-of-favour West Indies Test batsman Nkrumah Bonner, who is out due to an ailment, and pacer Marquino Mindley, who is injured. Both also missed Round Three.

Pacer Gordon Bryan, one of the team’s top performers before the competition’s three-week break, has a fractured left arm. He is to be replaced by former St Elizabeth Technical all-rounder Andre McCarthy, who is a more than handy pace bowler.

The Scorpions selection panel, which includes Carlton Baugh and Odean Brown, is closely monitoring the fitness of big-hitting batsman Leroy Lugg who has a bruised finger. He is expected to represent Kensington in Jamaica’s Senior Cup competition this weekend to prove his readiness.

The Scorpions are fourth in the eight-team table with 29.6 points, trailing the leaders Volcanoes (62.2), second-placed Leeward Islands Hurricanes (45.6) and the third-placed Pride (43.8). Trinidad & Tobago Red Force, on 27.6 points, are fifth, followed by title holders Guyana Harpy Eagles (26.4), West Indies Academy (24) and CCC (14.6).

— Sanjay Myers