Jermaine Blackwood

At the break, Brathwaite was unbeaten on 235 and Shane Dowrich, 19. So far the pair have added 34 runs for the fifth wicket from nine overs.

Resuming from his overnight score of 183 and the West Indies 353 for 3, Brathwaite and Jermaine Blackwood, 19 overnight, pushed the score for 429 when the latter was bowled by Rachin Ravindra for 53.

Blackwood scored his runs from 82 balls in his 115-minute stay at the crease during which he hit four fours. Together the pair that came together at 322 for 3, put in 107 runs in 27.1 overs as the West Indies continued to build on their massive total.

Ravindra has taken 2 for 59 from 19 overs.

The unexpected return to leadership for the 28-year-old comes after 12 players, including captain Jason Holder and vice-captain Roston Chase declined to take part in the tour, due to concerns over the coronavirus.  Bangladesh is noted as one of the world’s Covid-19 hots with 510,080 confirmed coronavirus cases and 7,479 deaths.  Brathwaite had been previously been replaced as vice-captain by Chase, ahead of the New Zealand tour.

The tour was sanctioned following a report from a health and safety team, which was sent on a pre-series tour of the country but that was not enough to assure the majority of the players.

Former Trinidad & Tobago and West Indies A team captain, Jason Mohammed, will lead the ODI team with Sunil Ambris as vice-captain.

The absence of the A-list players will see Kavem Hodge, the right-handed top-order batsman, called to the Test squad for the first time.  Left-handed opener Shayne Moseley and all-rounder Kyle Mayers will now feature in the first team for the first time, after making trips to England and New Zealand as reserves earlier this year.

Two players have earned their first call-ups for the ODI squad — Akeal Hosein, a left-arm spinner allrounder; and Kjorn Ottley, a left-handed top-order batsman.

West Indies Test Squad

Kraigg Brathwaite (captain)

Jermaine Blackwood (vice-captain)

Nkrumah Bonner

John Campbell

Rahkeem Cornwall

Joshua Da Silva

Shannon Gabriel

Kavem Hodge

Alzarri Joseph

Kyle Mayers

Shayne Moseley

Veerasammy Permaul

Kemar Roach

Raymon Reifer

Jomel Warrican

West Indies ODI Squad

Jason Mohammed (captain)

Sunil Ambris (vice-captain)

Nkrumah Bonner

Joshua Da Silva

Jahmar Hamilton

Chemar Holder

Akeal Hosein

Alzarri Joseph

Kyle Mayers

Andre McCarthy

Kjorn Ottley

Rovman Powell

Raymon Reifer

Romario Shepherd

Hayden Walsh jr

Chasing the Caribbean side’s mammoth 571 all out, the home side batted through the final 15 overs of the day without much trouble on another placid track. Henry Cooper 19 and Rachin Ravindra, 22, will resume batting on day three.

Earlier, Kraigg Brathwaite’s 246 was the foundation for the West Indies’ mammoth total. He was eventually out to a Michael Rae delivery after facing 400 balls in a knock that lasted almost 10 hours. He hit 17 fours and a six.

Resuming from his overnight 183 and the West Indies 353 for 3, Brathwaite and Jermaine Blackwood, 19, took the score to 429 when Blackwood bowled was bowled by Rachin Ravindra for 53.

Blackwood scored his runs from 82 balls in his 115-minute stay at the crease during which he hit four fours. Together the pair that came together at 322 for 3, put in 107 runs in 27.1 overs as the West Indies continued to build on their massive total.

Brathwaite was the sixth wicket to fall with the score at 483 after 130.4 overs of batting.

Raymon Reifer, 46, Jason Holder, 24, and Shane Dowrich 23 contributed to the lower order effort that took the West Indies to their final total. Of note was the 53-run, ninth-wicket stand between Reifer and Alzarri Joseph, who made 22.

Cole McConchie was the best of the bowlers with 3 for 130 from 36.1 overs in which he claimed the wickets of Holder, Reifer and Rahkeem Cornwall who failed to score. Rae took 2 for 100 and Ravindra 2 for 102 were also among the wickets.

Blackwood was given another chance to show he can cut it in the longest format after being dropped last year and he grabbed it with both hands on a tense final day behind closed doors in Southampton.

The Windies were set 200 to win a brilliant first international match since the coronavirus pandemic brought sport to a halt, Shannon Gabriel taking 5-75 - and match figures of 9-137 - to bowl England out for 313.

Barbados-born paceman Jofra Archer struck twice as the tourists slumped to 27-3, with John Campbell also retired hurt, but Blackwood came to the rescue.

The Jamaican made a mature, classy 95, hitting 12 boundaries before falling agonisingly short of a second Test century - five years after his first against England.

Roston Chase (37) provided great support for Blackwood, who was dropped on five and 20, and the Windies sealed only their second Test win in England in 20 years the final session.

Ben Stokes will face questions over his decision to bowl first in his first match as captain, with Joe Root set to return for a second Test starting at Old Trafford on Thursday.

Archer showed his ability with the bat after England resumed on 284-8, making a valuable 23 before he gloved Gabriel behind on the hook after Mark Wood nicked the paceman through to Shane Dowrich.

West Indies were in need of a solid start to the run chase, but a brilliant opening spell from Archer (3-45) made it very much advantage England.

Kraigg Brathwaite chopped on to the quick and the tourists still only had seven on the board when Shamarh Brooks was trapped leg before without scoring.

Campbell was also back in the pavilion retired hurt after being struck on the toe by Archer and Wood got in on the act by removing Shai Hope's off stump.

Chase survived an lbw shout before lunch, which was taken at 35-3, and Stokes could not take a chance to dismiss Blackwood in the slips, having misjudged where the ball would go.

Chase and Blackwood ticked over nicely, but a stand of 73 ended when the former fell to a brute of a delivery in a hostile spell from Archer after Zak Crawley made a mess of a run-out opportunity.

Blackwood played with great composure and brought up his half-century after Dowrich successfully reviewed, having been given out caught at slip off his elbow.

The tourists needed 57 in the final session with six wickets left and Stokes removed Dowrich (20) in only his fifth over after he had him caught from the previous ball but overstepped.

Blackwood kept a cool head and looked in complete control of the situation before driving Stokes (2-39) to James Anderson at mid-off to miss out on three figures.

Campbell returned to join captain Jason Holder at the crease with 11 needed to triumph and the opener hit the winning runs off Stokes to seal a great victory for the Windies.

This is in addition to 90 players across the region who are contracted to Territorial Board Franchise Squads.  

The West Indies Men’s contracted player list sees fast bowler Jayden Seales, left-arm seamer Obed McCoy and allrounder Odean Smith awarded international retainer contracts for the first time. The West Indies Women’s contracted player list sees allrounders Mandy Mangru and Jannillea Glasgow along with batter Rashada Williams awarded international retainer contracts for the first time, all of which are development contracts.

For 2022-23, CWI has changed the Men’s retainer contract structure to offer player contracts across all formats of cricket, compared to specific red or white-ball contracts in previous years.  The offer of retainer contracts to all players follows an Evaluation Period of performances from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022, which is also supported by statistics from the previous 2019 -2020 Evaluation Period. This allows for all players to be appraised immediately after the Evaluation Period and provides a notice period before new contracts start on 1 July 2022. The system is designed to reward hard work and performance results. 

“Congratulations to all the players who have been offered contracts.  We think this is a dynamic group, with the right mixture of experience and youthfulness to properly represent the people of the Caribbean. With general retainer contracts, it gives us a pool of talented and dedicated cricketers, who can take West Indies cricket forward in years to come,” said West Indies Men’s Lead Selector the Hon. Desmond Haynes.

West Indies Women’s Lead Selector, Ann Browne-John also offered her congratulations.

“The selectors have placed a great focus on the young developing players because these are the ones who will help to build the team as we look towards the future. The panel believes that the combination of experienced players and the emerging players will give a good base as we continue to prepare teams for international matches and the T20 World Cup early next year,” she said.

“I am delighted for all the players who have been offered retainers for the upcoming period. This represents a significant investment in the ongoing development of our international players whilst also ensuring our best players are available for selection,” said CWI Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams.

Full list of contracted players:

West Indies Men

Jermaine Blackwood
Nkrumah Bonner
Kraigg Brathwaite
Joshua Da Silva
Jason Holder
Shai Hope
Akeal Hosein
Alzarri Joseph
Brandon King
Kyle Mayers
Obed McCoy
Nicholas Pooran
Rovman Powell
Kemar Roach
Jayden Seales
Romario Shepherd
Odean Smith
Hayden Walsh Jr.

West Indies Women

*Denotes developmental contract 

Aaliyah Alleyne
Shemaine Campbelle
Shamilia Connell
Deandra Dottin
Afy Fletcher
Cherry Ann Fraser *
Shabika Gajnabi *
Jannillea Glasgow *
Chinelle Henry
Mandy Mangru *
Hayley Matthews
Anisa Mohammed
Chedean Nation
Karishma Ramharack
Kaysia Schultz *
Shakera Selman
Stafanie Taylor

Rashada Williams*

A total of 18 players have been offered contracts for the upcoming 2021-22 season which runs from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022.

Meanwhile, Roston Chase, Shamarh Brooks and Shane Dowrich are among several who have lost their retainer contracts. Also losing their contracts were Sunil Ambris, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Keemo Paul, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd and Oshane Thomas.

“Contracts offered for the 2021-22 period sees 18 players being retained, a decrease of four from last year. Jason Holder is the only player to retain his all-format contract due to his strong Test and T20I performances during the evaluation period,” CWI Lead Selector Roger Harper confirmed.

“There are several new players offered red-ball contracts earned by their strong performances during the last period. A number of players were not retained because they did not meet the minimum requirements.”

CWI Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams was pleased for the players who were retained.

“I am happy for all the players who have been offered retainer contracts for the upcoming period. Especially pleasing was the number of players who were awarded first-time contracts in recognition of their performances during the period under review,” he said.

“I know that the 11 players who have lost their international retainers will be striving and fighting hard to get back into the teams and earn their central contracts back next year.  These players, along with our T20 specialists, will ensure that we have genuine competition for places that will push everyone to attain higher standards of performance.”

The evaluation period for the 2021-22 contracts covered performances and statistics from April 1, 2020, to April 1, 2021 (this was also supported by statistics from the previous 2019-2020 evaluation period). This allows for all players to be appraised immediately after the evaluation period and provides a notice period before new contracts on July 1, 2021.

Below are the players who have been awarded retainer contracts.

All-Format Contracts: Jason Holder.

Red Ball Contracts: Kraigg Brathwaite, Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner*, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva*, Shannon Gabriel, Kyle Mayers* and Kemar Roach.

White Ball Contracts: Kieron Pollard, Fabien Allen, Darren Bravo, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein*, Evin Lewis, Alzarri Joseph, Nicholas Pooran and Hayden Walsh Jr.

*Players offered contracts for the first time in 2021-2022

Players who are no longer receiving international retainer contracts are:

All Format Contracts: Roston Chase.

Red Ball Contracts: Shamarh Brooks and Shane Dowrich.

White Ball Contracts: Sunil Ambris, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Keemo Paul, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd and Oshane Thomas.

 All players who are no longer on International retainer contracts are offered an A* grade Regional Franchise Contract for the following year.

The seven-wicket victory was achieved courtesy of a first-day rout from Jaguars spinner Veerasammy Permaul, whose 7-59, left the hosts 216 all out, with just Jermaine Blackwood, 59, really putting up any resistance.

In reply, the Jaguars depended on half centuries from Chanderpaul Hemraj (82) and Vishaul Singh (93) to get to 304 and a healthy lead of 88. That lead was too much for the Scorpions who buckled under the pressure, collapsing for 111, a lead of just 24.

Permaul was back at it again in the second innings, bagging eight wickets this time. Those eight wickets cost just 18 runs to end with figures of 15-77. The other two wickets went to Kevin Sinclair, who ended with 2-26.

For the Scorpions, the only batsman into double figures, John Campbell, scored all of 66 runs as his side meekly gave up the ghost.

Sinclair, nine, Leon Johnson, two, and Tagenarine Chanderpaul, two, all lost their wickets in chase of the minuscule total, with Singh on five and Christopher Barnwell on four, the not out batsmen.

 Fidel Edwards’s first over was fiery, and while Rakheem Cornwall drove for four he should have fallen trying to pull, but a stiff-looking Andre Russell parried the catch for another four. Mark Deyal started with a straight four off Veerasammy Permaul, but Edwards’s second over went for just four, and while Deyal pulled Mujeeb Ur Rahman for four the Afghan dismissed him with a googly.

 Permaul’s second went for just one, and while Cornwall dispatched Mujeeb over long-off for the game’s first Hero Maximum, the rest of the over went for only three, and at the end of the Powerplay, the Zouks were 35/1 with both Cornwall and Andre Fletcher under a run a ball.

Fletcher tried to attack Carlos Brathwaite but was superbly caught by Jermaine Blackwood. Cornwall hooked a second Hero Maximum and launched Sandeep Lamichhane for a third, but the Nepalese bowled him next ball with a googly. Brathwaite went for just five, and Permaul dismissed Mohammad Nabi who swept straight to his countryman Mujeeb. At halfway, the Zouks were 66/4.

Lamichhane bemused Najibullah Zadran to go for just one. Roston Chase thus had to attack Permaul’s final over and hit a straight Hero Maximum followed by a paddle-swept four. Lamichhane bowled a maiden, beating Chase on both edges, and Mujeeb’s third over went boundary-less to leave the Zouks 88/4 after 14.

 Lamichhane had bowled 11 dot balls in a row, but Najibullah broke the shackles with his reverse sweeps - if the first, a four, was fortunate, the second, a Hero Maximum, was majestic. Najibullah then dispatched Brathwaite over long-on then midwicket for consecutive Hero Maximums, bringing up a 50 partnership.

 Edwards targeted Najibullah with the short ball, going for just four, and while sub fielder Nkrumah Bonner reprieved Najibullah by dropping a simple chance off Mujeeb, the Tallawahs spinner got his countryman soon after as Najibullah sliced to Brathwaite at point. The Zouks reached 125/5 off 18.

 Javelle Glenn fell to a searing Edwards yorker, but Daren Sammy was able to use the pace to slice for four. Chase had become subdued and ended not out at under a run a ball.

Neither Blackwood nor Glenn Phillips started fluently - extras took up most of the first over, Nabi went for just two, and the first boundary of the innings was an under-edge. The Tallawahs were a scratchy 17/0 after three overs.

Blackwood flicked Nabi through square leg for four, and Phillips steered the Afghan for a four of his own. Kesrick Williams’ first over went for only three, but Deyal started with a full toss, swatted by Phillips for four, and followed it with five wides. Thus the Tallawahs reached 46/0 off the Powerplay.

Phillips picked the gap at midwicket to pull Zahir Khan’s first ball for four, but Blackwood was eating up deliveries, and while the Tallawahs reached 55/0 after eight overs, he was going at under four an over.

A misfield at third man gifted Phillips a four to end a good over from Williams. Blackwood continued to lack timing, but he and Phillips at least did not allow a dot ball off Zahir’s 10th. At drinks, the Tallawahs were 72/0.

Phillips thumped Zahir for the innings’ first Hero Maximum, but the Afghan ripped one through the gate to bowl the Kiwi. Sammy went to his other wrist-spinner Glenn, and the move proved fruitful as Blackwood under-edged to Fletcher. The Tallawahs suddenly found themselves needing 60 at over eight an over.

Tallawahs captain Rovman Powell fell the third ball to Zahir thanks to a brilliant slip catch by Sammy, and panic set in when Russell fell first ball, also caught by the captain at slip. Nicholas Kirton survived the hat-trick ball, but Zahir had changed the complexion of the game, and after 14 overs the Tallawahs were 93/4 and needed close to nine an over without Russell.

Walton’s difficult season continued as a good throw from Najibullah ran him out, and the Tallawahs now needing 43 off the last four overs. While Glenn dropped Brathwaite off his own bowling, he trapped him LBW next ball and then bowled Permaul to give himself a second chance at a hat-trick. Mujeeb survived, but the Tallawahs had dug themselves into a huge hole and now needed 13 an over.

Kirton launched Nabi over long-on for six then drove for four, but the Tallawahs still needed 24 off the last two overs. While Kirton smashed a full toss for a Hero Maximum, Williams calmed any nerves with a slower ball that bowled Kirton and closed his spell with a second wicket as Lamichhane picked out Nabi at long-on.

Chase had 17 to defend off the last over to Mujeeb and Edwards, who were never likely to get close. The Tallawahs go into a semi-final against the Trinbago Knight Riders on a losing streak and with questions to answer, but even with the Guyana Amazon Warriors’ pedigree, the well-led Zouks are not to be taken lightly.

Summary (St Lucia Zouks 145/6 (Najibullah 35, Chase 32*, Cornwall 32; Mujeeb 2/28, Lamichhane 1/20, Edwards 1/24, Permaul 1/27) beat Jamaica Tallawahs 134/9 (Phillips 49, Kirton 25, Blackwood 25; Glenn 3/16, Zahir 3/25, Williams 2/27) by 11 runs).

Upcoming Fixtures:

Tuesday 8 September - Semi-Final 1: Trinbago Knight Riders v Jamaica Tallawahs (10 am), 9:00 am Jamaica at Brian Lara Cricket Academy

Tuesday 8 September - Semi-Final 2: Guyana Amazon Warriors v St Lucia Zouks (5:30 pm), 4:30 am Jamaica Brian Lara Cricket Academy

The 29-year-old scored his first century against England in 2015, a plucky 112 unbeaten in a draw in Antigua.  Following that impressive achievement, however, Blackwood seemed unable to cross the double-digit threshold.  In fact, before finally breaking the streak with 104 against New Zealand, in December, Blackwood had managed to score 10 half-centuries in-between but always fell short of a triple-digit score.

Included in that number were some figures frustratingly well clear of the 50 mark, but falling just short of the 100 mark, when for all intents and purposed the batsman seemed well set to do so.  The tally includes three scores in the 90s.  He scored 92 against Sri Lanka, in Galle, in 2015; 95 against Pakistan, in Abu Dhabi, in 2016, and 95 against England, in Southampton, in July of last year.  Prior to that, Blackwood also registered 85 against England, in Bridgetown, in May 2015.  During India’s tour of the West Indies, Blackwood took the opportunity to seek the advice of run-machine Kohli when the two briefly interacted off the pitch.

“I just asked him how come all the time I score so many half-centuries and just one century, and he just replied, ‘What did you do when you scored the century? How many deliveries did you face?’ I said I faced 212, and he said that’s it, once you can bat some balls you will score runs,” Blackwood recalled.

“I took a lot from that and I’ve always told myself, after that conversation, once I can bat over 200 balls or 300, I’m going to score runs.  Once I’m there, the way I bat, I’m going to score runs regardless of who I’m playing against or where I’m playing.”

It was a day when Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Kraigg Brathwaite who scored tons in the West Indies’s first innings of 447-6 declared, created another record of being the first opening pair to bat on all five days of a Test match.

Resuming from their overnight score of 21-0 with the West Indies captain on 11 and Chanderpaul on 10. The pair would add another 11 runs before Brad Evans broke the partnership when he bowled Chanderpaul for 15.

Brathwaite was trapped lbw by Wellington Masakadza for 25 which brought Reifer and Blackwood together. They mounted a stand of 107 that was broken when Masakadza picked up his second wicket when he dismissed Reifer caught and bowled for 58.

He picked up his fourth wicket of the match when he had Blackwood caught behind for 57 to end with figures of 3-71.

Evans picked up his second wicket when he had Roston Chase caught behind for 14 after which Kyle Mayers and Joshua Da Silva added another 23 runs before the declaration came.

Mayers remained unbeaten on 17 and Da Silva, nine.

Evans took 2-41.

At tea, Zimbabwe needing 272 for victory were 1-0.

Scores: West Indies 447-6 (dec) and 203-5 (dec) vs Zimbabwe 379-9 (dec) and 1-0.

When play resumes on Saturday morning, Tevin Gilzene will carry on from 81 hoping for a big century as is Jermaine Blackwood, who was unbeaten on 66. The pair has so far put on 166 for the second wicket after losing opening batter Leroy Lugg for 10.

Earlier, Guyana picked up from their overnight score of 138-4 with Tagenarine Chanderpaul on 60 and Tevin Imlach on an even 50. The pair had extended their partnership to 175 when Chanderpaul was trapped lbw by Blackwood for 89.

Meanwhile, Imlach went to make an unbeaten 136 as Guyana declared at 294-7, 458 ahead of the Scorpions.

Mindley finished with the impressive figures of 6-54 after running through the Guyana middle order. Blackwood took 1-41.

At stumps, WI Best ‘B’ are 44-4 from the 15 overs they faced, 220 runs behind WI Best ‘A’ who scored 264 all out.

Blackwood led from the front scoring 85 while Shai Hope got 79 as the WI Best A got to 254 for 5 before collapsing to 264 all. Roston Chase did the late damage taking 4-44 from 11.3 overs.

Earlier, Chemar Holder took 3 for 44, to keep the batters in check after John Campbell and Hope got the WI Best A to a fast start, racing to 47-0 after just 10 overs with Jayden Searles and Preston McSween bearing the brunt of the onslaught.

Chemar Holder broke the partnership with the score at 62 when he got Campbell for 20.

Darren Bravo and Hope added 42 before Holder dismissed Bravo for seven and Kyle Mayers in consecutive deliveries as WI Best A slipped to 104 for 3.

At 123 for 3, Searles for Hope for 79.

Meanwhile, Blackwood, who was on eight when Hope got out, put together a 54-run stand with Joshua Da Silva, who was eventually bowled by Jomel Warrican for 13.

Kavem Hodge and Blackwood then took the score to 254 when the captain fell for 85 and triggered a collapse as Chase knifed through the lower order and saw the side lose their last five wickets for 10 runs.

When the B side batted, they lost Kieran Powell for 22, Shayne Moseley for 1, Nkrumah Bonner for a duck and Shamarh Brooks for 13 as Keon Harding took 2-23, Nial Smith 1-5 and Shannon Gabriel 1-15.

Fit-again quick Gabriel took 5-75 – giving him match figures of 9-137 - to bowl England out for 313 and leave the tourists needing 200 for victory on the final day at the Rose Bowl.  

West Indies were in deep trouble on 27-3 with John Campbell having retired hurt due to a toe injury, but Blackwood and Roston Chase (37) put on 73 for the fourth wicket.  

Recalled batsman Blackwood fell for a classy and mature 95, but Campbell returned to hit the winning runs on a gripping Sunday behind closed doors in Southampton.  

Holder was full of praise for his side after they secured victory in the first international fixture since the coronavirus pandemic brought sport to a halt.

The Windies captain told Test Match Special: "I'm really happy. The boys have worked hard and it's good to see it pay off. 

"I'm happy that Gabriel came back well and Blackwood too. They put their hands up and led the charge. 

"It was a nerve-wracking start after losing quick three wickets and Campbell to injury. But Roston and Jermaine put on a good partnership and settled the nerves. From there we could build on. 

"I missed the Barmy Army. But it was a level playing field without the crowds. It's been a good start back to international cricket, it sets the series up quite nicely." 

The second Test begins at the bio-secure bubble of Old Trafford on Thursday, with West Indies eyeing a first series win in England since 1988. 

The Windies won a close opening contest by four wickets, with a crucial 95 from Jermaine Blackwood helping the tourists get over the line on day five.

Broad, who has 485 Test wickets and impressed in South Africa at the end of last year, was left out of the line-up in Southampton by stand-in captain Ben Stokes.

Stokes also elected to bat first in overcast conditions, a move that came under scrutiny after England managed just 204 in their first innings.

West Indies captain Holder thought Broad would have played instead of either Jofra Archer or Mark Wood and was happy when Stokes opted to bat after winning the toss.

"This is a proud moment for us," Holder said in a column for the Daily Mail. "We really wanted to start this Test series well and to begin the way we have by winning the first Test is perfect. 

"Looking back at the game, it was my preference to bowl first so I didn't mind England deciding to bat and then our bowlers simply bowled their hearts out on a pretty flat pitch. 

"I was a little surprised England didn't pick Stuart Broad. 

"His record, particularly in this country, is outstanding and I thought they would leave out either Jofra Archer or Mark Wood. But they put out a high quality attack, that's for sure.

"As it went on it became close to the complete West Indian performance. There's no doubt the game changer was that fourth afternoon when we took five wickets after tea.

"Then we were able to finish it off on the last day. It's been a while since we had Shannon Gabriel on the park due to injury so to see him back firing on all cylinders was brilliant. 

"We were always confident we would get 200 to win but losing three quick wickets and John Campbell to injury wasn't ideal. 

"But the partnership between Jermaine Blackwood and Roston Chase was just what we wanted and it was really good to see Jermaine going as deep as he did. 

"This was a career-reviving innings for Jermaine. He's a very exciting player and he grabbed this opportunity with both hands."

The second Test at Old Trafford, for which Joe Root will return as the hosts' captain following the birth of his second child, starts on Thursday, with West Indies knowing they will retain the Wisden Trophy if they avoid defeat.

In section two of the Men’s 100m, West Indies Test vice-captain, Jermaine Blackwood, took part in his first track meet, running 11.76 to finish seventh. That run, according to the 31-year-old, was just for fun.

Cross-training is a way for athletes to participate in training for one sport to improve aspects of their game in another sport and this is a method Blackwood has started to utilize.

Since February of this year, the batsman has been training with the Titans International Track Club in Kingston.

Blackwood says the decision came after a suggestion from his friend and member of the club, 2011 World 100m champion Yohan Blake, after he told Blake he wanted to work on his fitness.

“Just before I went to South Africa, I started training with Titans International,” Blackwood told SportsMax.tv on Tuesday.

“I reached out to Yohan (Blake) and told him I want to come and do some fitness work and he said I should come to the track and train with his club and, from that day, I haven’t looked back since,” he added.

The Jamaican said that he’s seen a significant improvement in his fitness levels since starting to train with the club.

“I can see that my overall fitness has improved a lot from there until now and I’m in very good shape,” Blackwood said before going into how the training has helped his batting.

“Whenever I’m fit and I’m playing, I tend to score more runs because my mind is clear on the kinds of shots I want to play. My decision making is clear,” he said.

“I just tell myself I’m coming in here to put in the work and, once I do that, I’m going to score even more runs. Fitness is a big part of my batting. My back doesn’t get tight when I’m fit and that helps me to bat even longer,” he added.

When asked if this training will allow him to prolong his career, Blackwood responded saying, “Yeah for sure. My body feels really good. I don’t really feel like my age right now because I’ve been getting up early, coming in and putting in the work. I reach the track at 6:00 am, leave at 9:00 am to go to the gym with Yohan and then after the gym I do my cricket training. I have to stay disciplined and Know that, once I put in the work, it will pay off.”

Blackwood also said that he plans to continue training with Titans International whenever he’s not playing cricket.

The 29-year-old Blackwood was one of the few bright spots for the Windies on a dismal tour of New Zealand that was capped off by massive innings defeats in a two-Test series.

Blackwood, however, managed to do something the majority of his teammates could not and that is score runs.  The Jamaica-born batsman crafted a determined 104 in the first innings, of the first match, forming a valuable partnership down the order with bowler Alzarri Joseph.  In the second Test, he scored 69, a high score for the second-match batting line-up.

While acknowledging the achievement, the batsman has insisted there is plenty of hard work to be done.

“I did well but it wasn’t enough, because we still lost the two-Test games.  So, I think going forward I need to do better so I can actually win some games for my team,” Blackwood told the Mason and Guest radio program.

The batsman believes a huge part of his success was due to the preparation he put in heading into the series.

“I think my preparation was good.  I really prepared well.  I went to New Zealand and did a lot of work with Roddy Estwick and the batting coach in the nets, doing specific stuff, stuff that I knew I was going to get in the game,” he added.

“A lot of short ball stuff in the nets because I knew I was going to get a lot of that in the game.  So, I already prepared for that in the training session so once I stepped out it would be natural.

“Having been out of the Test arena for years my first series back against England I would say I missed out there.  I told myself once I got into the 90s again, I was not going to miss out.  I’m working hard to get my conversion rate better and get some more 100s.  So, I think I am making some good strides.”

The last time the batsman was in Sri Lanka for a Test series was in 2015 where he fell just short of a century with 92 in Galle.  His performance was not good when the teams met earlier in the Caribbean this year but believes he can set things right on a ground where he will have good memories.

“To be honest, I try to stick to my strengths.  Now, I’m starting to understand my game a lot better than I did in the past.  I really know my game inside out now,” Blackwood told members of the media.

“The last time I played there I played more attacking to be honest because I was batting at a proper level.  This time around if I get a chance I can bat longer for the team and score more runs.  I not looking to just score a century or a half-century, I’ll be looking to push it beyond that.  So, hopefully, if I get in on this track, I can score a lot of runs for the team.”

In four series to date, the West Indies are yet to win a  match in Sri Lanka.

At stumps, Jamaica following on after being bowled out for 125 in response to Trinidad’s 302, were 199-5, a lead of 22 with only five second-innings wickets in hand.

Jamaica has been poor this season and Thursday was no different. Resuming on 5-1, the Scorpions were skittled out for 125. They would not have made as much had it not been for their bowlers Derval Green (39) and Jeavor Royal (27) who shared in an eight-wicket stand of 62 that took the side from an embarrassing 50-7.

Tion Webster was the main destroyer taking 5-30 with Terrance Hinds backing him up with 3-40.

Following on 177 behind, Jamaica lost Tevin Gilzene for two but found some steel in the form of a second-wicket stand of 104 between opener Leroy Lugg and Jermaine Blackwood. Lugg eventually fell to the bowling of Anderson Phillip for 66.

Blackwood and Carlos Brown added 50 for the third wicket but then Brown was dismissed by Imran Khan for 16 to leave Jamaica on 162-3.

Blackwood fell to Bryan Charles for 68 as Jamaica slipped to 172-4. Brad Barnes went for 14 leaving Jamaica in further trouble at 191-5, a lead of only 14.

Abhijai Mansingh will resume on 10 and Aldane Thomas seven when play begins on Friday.

Phillip has so far taken 2-21 and Charles 2-68 for Trinidad and Tobago who will be looking to wrap up victory on the third day of play.

The Selection Panel named one uncapped player in the 15-member squad – Jeremy Solozano, the left-handed opening batsman – following the two recent three-day Best v Best matches and training sessions at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.

Roger Harper, Lead Selector said: “The Best v Best matches provided the opportunity for the players to spend some time in the middle honing their skills for this tour. The aim was to simulate as much as possible, the conditions that the team will likely face in Sri Lanka, so it was good to see the batsmen spending time at the crease while putting some scores together and the bowlers looking to build pressure and create wicket-taking opportunities,” Harper said.

“Jeremy played for the West Indies ‘A’ Team in 2019 (against India ‘A’) with success and in the Best v Best matches he displayed a sense of application, patience, and composure while looking very comfortable against both pace and spin which encouraged the panel to invest in him at this point.”

Harper added: “The squad is well balanced, with good depth in all departments. The composition is very similar to the squad that brought us success in our last away tour to Bangladesh, with a few changes in personnel. There are a number of players who are familiar with Sri Lankan conditions and most of the others have good experience in the Indian sub-continent, so they know what to expect and are gearing themselves for it.”

Both Test matches will be played at the Galle International Stadium. West Indies will have a four-day warm-up match in Colombo from November 14 to 17. The Tests will follow on November 21 to 25 and November 29 to December 3.

The series is the second of six series, three at home and three away, that West Indies will play in the 2021-2023 ICC World Test Championship. Please see ICC World Test Championship table here: https://bit.ly/3EcJXpV

 FULL SQUAD

Kraigg Brathwaite (Captain), Jermaine Blackwood (Vice-Captain), Nkrumah Bonner, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Kyle Mayers, Veerasammy Permaul, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Jeremy Solozano, and Jomel Warrican.

The squads have been confirmed by the Cricket West Indies Selection Panel, with 14 players named per squad and 11 players batting in each innings. Hamilton is humbled and eager to lead one of the squads, especially considering the importance of this contest to all involved.

“There’s going to be some quality. We have the best guys for red-ball cricket in the Caribbean here, so it is going to be a challenge,” he said.

“Also, this game is to select players for the Test team, so it is going to be a great showdown. I am in the captain’s role, so I just want to put my best foot forward and lead the team to victory."

Jermaine Blackwood was equally as elated and is adamant that the fans will be treated with a fine contest.

“The fans can expect great cricket over the next four days because we have some very competitive athletes here,” he said.

“We are ready to go play some exciting cricket starting tomorrow. We are a group of hungry players, who are ready to showcase our talent to the selectors and coaches. I am very honoured to be leading one of the teams. Fans can tune into the West Indies YouTube page to watch the game live.”

The match will be streamed live on the Windies Cricket YouTube channel.

The links for each day’s live coverage are as follows:

Day 1: https://youtu.be/ZlxHDYMt9No

Day 2: https://youtu.be/kvniMRsupus

Day 3: https://youtu.be/ozr2t6KAwNo

Day 4: https://youtu.be/wpw0LPNg-gM

Meanwhile, four players who played in the recent series against Sri Lanka will be unavailable for the “Best v Best” match.

Jason Holder, the ICC’s Number 1 ranked Test all-rounder arrived in St. Lucia on May 28 and after going through the agreed quarantine protocols will begin training on June 1 once he has returned two negative PCR tests.

Test Captain Kraigg Brathwaite and fast bowlers Kemar Roach and Alzarri Joseph are arriving in St Lucia later this coming week following their English County Championship commitments. They will join training after completing the quarantine protocols and once they respectively return two negative PCR tests each.

Blackwood’s team comprises Shai Hope, Darren Bravo, John Campbell, Rahkeem Cornwall, Keon Harding, Shannon Gabriel, Kavem Hodge, Kyle Mayers, Veerasammy Permaul, Joshua Da Silva, Nail Smith, Oshane Thomas and Hayden Walsh Jr.

Hamilton’s team is Nkrumah Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Kerron Cottoy, Chemar Holder, Obed McCoy, Preston McSween, Shayne Moseley, Paul Palmer, Kieron Powell, Raymon Reifer, Jayden Seales and Jomel Warrican.

The match that will be officiated by umpires Joel Wilson, Gregory Brathwaite and Leslie Reifer Jr is set to begin at 9 am Jamaica time. 10 am AST.