Blackwood vows continued 'aggression'

West Indies batsman Jermaine Blackwood has shrugged off any notion that he will be tapering his batting style any time soon. The right-hander was one of the heroes for the regional side in their one-wicket win in the first Test at Sabina Park in Kingston on Sunday.

Blackwood’s 55 runs off 78 balls helped the team to chase down the 168 runs needed to win on what was a very difficult Sabina Park track to score runs.

Of note, 40 of the 55 runs scored by the right-hander came in boundaries, and he made it clear that he would continue to play his naturally aggressive way once it continues to bring him success.

“I am an aggressive batsman, and I am always going to play aggressively,” he said. “If I didn’t go out on that fourth day and play aggressively, maybe we would be talking something different today.”

The Jamaican made it clear that tapering that aggression with sensible batting would be required if they are to claim the series win against a resolute and disciplined Pakistan fast-bowling attack, which claimed 18 wickets in the contest at an average of 18.66.

“Once we can get down to ball selection, with regards to which balls to score off and defend, that will be much better for us,” he said.

The West Indies have not lost a Test match when chasing 200 runs or less for victory, and the team knows that the outcome could have been different had the visitors not dropped crucial catches during the run chase.

With a 1-0 lead heading into the final game starting tomorrow, Blackwood says the team can come up with another exceptional performance to claim the series win.

“Once we go out there and play some hard cricket, I don’t see why we can’t beat Pakistan,” he said. “In the last game, the batsmen showed bits of application, and once we can bat for longer periods, I don’t see why we can’t win the series because the bowlers are always doing an awesome job for us.”

Speaking of bowlers, Pakistan bowling coach Waqar Younis says his bowling unit will be coming with the same intensity that saw them rip through the West Indies top and middle order in the first Test.

With Tropical Storm Grace hampering the preparation of the Sabina Park pitch, it is still not clear what type of surface the teams will get come Friday, but Younis is clear that his pace unit is ready.

"The conditions are likely to be the same for the second Test,” he said. “I'm not sure about the [weather] forecast. We want to play in the same way and with the same spirit as we did in the previous Test. We want to avoid the mistakes that we did in the last Test."

The game bowls off at 10 a.m.

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