Jermaine Blackwood

A brilliant lower middle-order batsman, Jermaine Blackwood has become an integral part of the West Indies set-up for a considerable amount of time. He is an attacking batsman who can take the bones out of any bowler at any point in time, but the lack of consistency has been his Achilles heel. Born on 20th November 1991, Blackwood is also a part-time offie who has the knack of breaking partnerships. 

Blackwood stormed into the limelight when he was inducted into the West Indies U-19 squad without having any experience of playing a single first-class match. After plying his trade for the Windies junior team, Blackwood made his List A debut against Barbados in October 2009 in Zone B of the President’s Cup. He boarded the flight to New Zealand for the 2010 U-19 World Cup where his only performance of substance was the knock of 48 off 28 deliveries against Bangladesh. 

His first-class debut was far from impressive against Guyana in the Regional Four Day Competition in March 2012 when he scored 24 in two innings. However, he soon made his presence felt when Blackwood smashed a sensational 94 and followed it up with a staggering 188 in the final of the competition against the Windward Islands. He finished the tournament as the leading run-getter with 611 runs under his belt at an impressive average of 41. He also went on smash twin centuries against Bangladesh A while plying his trade for the Sagicor High-Performance Centre. 

Blackwood was awarded his maiden Test cap in 2014 during a match against New Zealand and he impressed all and sundry with a knock of 63 which oozed class. Despite his heroics in his debut Test, Blackwood had to make way for a bowler as the team management wanted an extra bowler for the final Test.  

However, he didn't manage to translate his form in the limited-overs format scoring just 9 in the ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo. Blackwood’s first moment of recognition in the international circuit came in the year 2015 when he smashed a sensational counter-attacking 112 which wasn’t enough to get his side over the finishing line. In the final Test, it was a special knock of 85 which ensured that West Indies levelled the series. He also finished the series with a tally of 311 runs at an incredible average of 77.75. He further strengthened his credentials with a whirlwind knock of 41 of 45 deliveries which played an important role in the West Indies winning a Test match in England in 17 years in 2017. 

Blackwood has been in and out of the national side in the recent past. However, he did make an impression when the West Indies toured England just after the COVID-19 break. He scored a match-winning 95 in the opening Test which helped West Indies register a convincing and memorable victory in the background of the global movement Black Lives Matter. However, his form dipped dramatically after that match as the Windies went on to lose the series 1-2. Living by his reputation of blowing hot and cold, Blackwood bounced back strongly against the Kiwis in the same year, smashing a century and a half-century in a series where the Caribbeans were thrashed by the Blackcaps.

(As of April 2021)