Blackwood: I hope Joseph and I inspired WI’s batsmen

WEST Indies batsman Jermaine Blackwood, who was one of the bright sparks in the crushing defeat against New Zealand in the opening Test match, hopes his performance along with Alzarri Joseph could inspire his team-mates leading into the second and final match.

Blackwood’s knock of 104 and Joseph’s 86 helped West Indies avoid defeat inside three days.

Despite the pair’s grit, New Zealand still wrapped up victory on day four by an innings and 134 runs.

West Indies were 89/6 in the follow on, but Blackwood and Joseph combined to frustrate New Zealand with a partnership of 155 for the seventh wicket.

Blackwood scored his second Test century in 141 deliveries which included 11 fours and two sixes. Joseph’s maiden Test fifty came off 125 balls and included nine fours and three sixes.

Blackwood, who was disappointed Joseph could not complete his century, is hoping the seventh-wicket partnership could be a source of inspiration.

“Going forward I hope the team gets some confidence from me and Alzarri’s confidence. I think it is all going to come down to how the guys prepare because I think we prepared well as a team since we’ve been here for a month…I think the team got a lot of positivity out of that innings that me and Alzarri put together, so hopefully going forward we can see a better batting performance,” Blackwood told New Zealand media following the match.

After New Zealand posted 519/7 declared, West Indies were bowled out for 138. In the second innings, West Indies made 247 thanks to Blackwood and Joseph.

Blackwood said he felt more relaxed in the nineties compared to past innings. “This time it was less pressure. I felt less pressure batting this time around when I was in the nineties. I was more confident in myself that I could get the job done and to be able to score a hundred for myself and for the team it is a very good feeling, I worked hard.”

The Jamaican right-hander said the grassy wickets in New Zealand is something he is familiar with.

“To be honest for me I from Kingston, Jamaica so I normally play on a lot of bouncy tracks at Sabina Park so to come and see this green track it does not really faze me too much. I just stay positive, stay in the right frame of mind (and) try to play the ball as late as possible and just watch the ball. Just play each ball on its merit, so the green track don’t really bother me too much.”

On his partnership with Joseph, Blackwood said, “I thought he played a very good innings, well put together. As you can see in his stroke-making he was very comfortable with the short balls and he drove the ball (also) because he is a player who loves to bat, he takes pride in his batting.”