Holmwood Technical High School is located in Manchester, Jamaica. Apart from graduating students who have excelled in many fields across the world, it is well known for producing more than its share of good cricketers. Ricardo Powell and Franklyn Rose, both West Indies representatives, passed through Holmwood.
So did Jermaine Blackwood. I first became aware of Blackwood when Glenroy Henry, a friend from St Vincent who settled in Jamaica and a cricket devotee who religiously followed the Holmwood cricket team, mentioned what a good player he looked.
Henry spent years living in England, playing club cricket for Aylesbury Town, before retiring to Jamaica with his Jamaican wife. He loved cricket and those who played it, especially up and coming young players. Blackwood, or Dada, as he was known, was one of his favourites.
Henry and I followed Blackwood’s career closely as he left school and progressed in the game: as he played for the Under 19s, attended the Sagicor High Performance Centre, played for Jamaica, graduated to West Indies A, and finally to the Test team. Having watched him from his early days we were somewhat invested in his growth and were especially pleased when he racked up his first, and so far only, Test hundred, against England on their 2015 Caribbean visit.
His approach to batting was evident from his schooldays. Attack was always his first consideration and so he was never reluctant to unsheathe his full repertoire of shots, often in quick succession. As was apparent from his very first Test innings -- against New Zealand in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago -- he was especially fond of the lofted shot over extra-cover or mid-off. It’s a shot that gets him a fair few runs.
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Denne historien er fra August 16, 2020-utgaven av The Cricket Paper.
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