Lewis, Blackwood surprised at Super50 selection

Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer

Former national Under-19 representatives opener Kenar Lewis and batting all-rounder Jermaine Blackwood were both surprised at being selected in Jamaica's 14-man squad for the upcoming West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Super50 Tournament, which will be held in Guyana.

The squad, which will today begin to intensify preparations for the October 18-31 event, was named yesterday following the Jamaica Cricket Association's third and final trial match at Sabina Park.

"I was surprised as a number of senior players were also performing well throughout the trials and I thought they would have gotten the nod," said the 20-year-old Lewis, who, along with Blackwood, are the only newcomers to squad.

"Everybody knows me as a hard-hitting, quick-scoring batsman. However, throughout the matches I changed my approach by showing a lot of application and that is what I think encouraged them to pick me."

Blackwood, who, like Lewis, was a reserve during Jamaica's failed campaign in last season's Caribbean Twenty20 Championship, said his disbelief stemmed from the fact that he didn't feel he had performed up to par during the trial matches.

"I was surprised as I didn't really score a lot of runs in the three matches. I scored 38 in the first match, 26 in the second, and eight in third, and at one point, I though it was enough," he said.

"But the selectors know that I have the potential to do better as I have been getting starts, but it is just for me to carry on. But I know my fault and I am going to work on it in training so that if a get a game I can make full use of it," added the 19-year-old.

Meanwhile, the national selection panel, which is chaired by Courtnay Daley, and includes Robert Samuels and Delroy Morgan, decided not to give a recall to opener Brenton Parchment, who was dropped for last year's tournament, but performed fairly well throughout the trial matches.

Taking no risks

They also decided not to risk selecting David Bernard Jr, who is injured, while young left-arm seamer, Sheldon Cotterell, who performed well during the Caribbean Twenty20 Championships, and young batsman Horace Miller, who played during the same championships, were overlooked.

The issue of captaincy is expected to be sorted out before the end of the week with last year's skipper Chris Gayle and four-day captain Tamar Lambert the likely candidates.

In the meantime, the squad could be reinforced with the return of all-rounder André Russell and batsman Danza Hyatt, who are both away on West Indies duties and are slated to return to the Caribbean on October 20, the day of Jamaica's opening game.

SQUAD: Chris Gayle, Tamar Lambert, Xavier Marshall, Shawn Findlay, Yannick Elliott, Chadwick Walton, Odean Brown, Simon Jackson, Krishmar Santokie, Jerome Taylor, Nikita Miller, Andrew Richardson, Kenar Lewis, Jermaine Blackwood.