Blackwood rides the blows to make first test ton

Friday, 17 April 2015 02:55 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

(Reuters) - For five-and-a-half hours England’s bowlers threw everything at Jermaine Blackwood but the young West Indies batsman held firm to notch up his maiden test century in Antigua on Wednesday. The 23-year-old curbed his natural attacking instincts and played with maturity as wickets fell around him before throwing caution to the wind to spray England’s pace attack to all corners of Antigua’s North Sound and finish unbeaten on 112.

Blackwood, with three fifties in the first five tests of his fledgling international career, was particularly strong down the ground, clubbing 14 fours and two sixes in the hosts’ solitary act of defiance on day three as England gained the upper hand. “It’s a very big difference scoring a test century,” Blackwood told Sky Sports. “It’s a very important milestone for me. No-one remembers you for half-centuries. I’m looking forward to many more. “It was hard, I took a couple of blows, but that’s why it’s test cricket.” Blackwood had a reprieve on Tuesday when he was caught in the slips off a Ben Stokes no ball and he was also dropped on 43. But easy-going Jamaican Blackwood laughed off his fortune. “Ben Stokes and I go back to the 2010 Under-19 World Cup,” he said. “Ben Stokes is all right, Ben Stokes is my boy.” Explosive West Indies opener Chris Gayle, currently playing in the Indian Premier, predicted a bright future for the young right-hander. “That’s my boy jblackwood100 1st Test Hundred, many more to come! #WellDone #112NotOut,” Gayle said on Twitter.