Ben Stokes Was Sledging Me From First Ball In Southampton: Jermaine Blackwood

Jermaine Blackwood stood tall after the West Indies lost early wickets in the second innings against England in Southampton to help the visitors in the run chase. Blackwood missed out on his century by five runs in the second innings as the West Indies cliched the first Test against England by four wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Chasing the target of 200 runs Jermaine Blackwood stepped in when the West Indies were reeling at 27/3. Blackwood made sure to hold the fort for the visitors and stitched key partnerships. Blackwood forged a 73-run stand with Roston Chase before adding another 68 runs with Shane Dorwich.

However, after playing the role of a sheet anchor, Blackwood was sent packing on 95 runs by Ben Stokes as he returned a catch to James Anderson for a second time straight. When Blackwood was dismissed the scoreboard read 189/6 as the West Indies looked well on course to clinch the match

Blackwood revealed that stand-in captain Ben Stokes was in his ears from the first ball of his innings. The batsman was of the opinion that they wanted him to play a rash shot as ones he was at the crease the Englishmen under pressure. Blackwood, however, said that he does not remembers what Stokes tried to say.

“From the first ball the captain Ben Stokes was in my ear,” Blackwood was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.

“I think they were trying to get me to play a rash shot but it didn’t faze me at any point. Once I was at the crease they were the ones under pressure, not me.

“They knew they couldn’t bowl a loose ball at me. I can’t remember what was said but it was nothing bad. That’s cricket. You’ll always hear a bit of talking and that’s how it should be played.”

Blackwood has an impressive record for England. He has scored at an average of 50 against the Englishmen with his career best score coming against them in Antigua in 2015.

Blackwood has an average of over 31 in the longest format with an average of nearly 32. He has hit one century and 11 half-centuries in Tests.