Blackwood's controlled innings won the game for us: coach Phil Simmons
Jul 15, 2020
London [UK], July 15 : West Indies' coach Phil Simmons has lauded Jermaine Blackwood for his 'controlled' knock in the second innings which eventually helped Windies defeat England in the first Test.
Chasing 200 in the second innings, Blackwood came into bat when West Indies were reeling at 27 runs for the loss of three wickets, with John Campbell retired hurt.
Blackwood played cautiously and stitched a 73 run stand with Roston Chase before the latter departed with West Indies still needing 100 runs to seal the game.
"I think he must be commended because he has worked very hard on trying to get that temperament right for each part of his innings," ESPNcricinfo quoted Simmons as saying.
"As we saw in the first innings, it was still there a bit, but in the second he controlled it a lot better. And that helped him to bring home the game for us," he added.
En route to the target, Blackwood again formed a solid partnership with Shane Dowrich. The right-handed batsman smashed 95 runs as West Indies defeated England by four wickets.
Blackwood now has an average of 55.00 against England in seven Tests.
"Try to get him irrational, but I think he held his own. He looked at the situation and played it as well as he could have. So that shows that his mindset is improving, and that's all you can ask for," said Simmons
West Indies will now lock horns with England in the second Test of the series at Old Trafford in Manchester from July 16.
