Jermaine Blackwood was the only West Indies batsman to emerge from the West Indies tour of New Zealand with his reputation intact in what was otherwise a disastrous tour in which some batsmen averaged less than the team’s bowlers.
The 29-year-old Jamaican, who acquitted himself well during the #Raisethebat tour of England in July, was the second highest scorer on the tour; his 216 runs only bettered by Kane Williamson’s 251 in the first Test that the West Indies lost by an innings and 134 runs.
However, Blackwood’s 216 runs were made in four innings and included his second Test century in the second innings of the first Test. He added a score of 69 in the first innings of the second Test that was more than half of the West Indies total 131 all out.
He averaged 54 for the series, well above his career average of 31.10.
For the rest of the batsman, the tour was a train wreck even though one of the West Indies bowlers might be moving towards a new designation; that of allrounder.
Opener John Campbell was the next best West Indies batsman having scored 110 runs in four innings. He achieved his highest Test score of 68 in the second innings of the second Test which helped prop his average up to 27.5, the same as fast bowler Alzarri Joseph.
The 24-year-old Antiguan also scored 110 runs during the series with a career best 86 made in the first Test. He showed glimpses of his batting potential when he scored 24 from 12 balls as the second Test drew to a close. That cameo included two majestic sixes square of the wicket and a sublime straight drive to the boundary, one of three he struck during his brief stay at the crease.
Captain Jason Holder averaged 34.33 which flattered him as he only scored 103 runs during the series, 61 of which came in his final innings when he and Joshua Da Silva fought in vain to avoid another embarrassing defeat.
Da Silva didn’t do his cause any harm scoring 60 runs in two innings including a well-played 57 in the final Test match. He averaged 30.
By contrast, this was a series that Kraigg Brathwaite and Roston Chase, will quickly want to forget. The former only managed 55 runs at an average of 13.75. It was even worse for Chase who could only muster 17 runs at 4.25.
Shamarh Brooks, who faced 92 balls for just 14 runs in the first innings of the second Test, compiled 53 runs during the series averaging 13.25 per inning. Of note, is that Brooks scored 36 runs in the second innings of the final Test, meaning he scored 50 of his 53 runs in the second Test match at Wellington.