West Indies batsman Jermaine Blackwood has revealed his friend and mentor Andre Russell had mixed feelings about his heroic performance against England, as the Caribbean team went up 1-0, at Southampton, in the opening match of the ongoing Test series.

Blackwood crafted a crucial 95 from 154, to provide the backbone of the team’s second innings, in a four-wicket win over England.  Despite the player's herculean effort, there was a ting of disappointment as he was caught by James Anderson, off Ben Stokes, just five runs short of what would have been a second Test century.

“He (Russell) was very proud but he said he had mixed feelings.  He was happy and sad at the same time because he really wanted me to score the hundred, but happy that I scored some runs and eventually the team won,” Blackwood told members of the media during a Zoom press conference on Tuesday.

The batsman also credited his improvement to a newly acquired fierce work ethic, which has seen himself and compatriot Russell putting in the required hours on and off the pitch.

“Over the past year or so I have been working hard with Andre.  Andre Russell is like my mentor, so we work every single day, seven days a week.  So, I am just pleased now to come and score some runs.  It shows that once you put in the work you will get the runs,” he added.