The Two Bears Inside Jermaine Blackwood

Will the real Dadz please stand up?

May 20, 2021

According to an old Native American (Cherokee) proverb, there are two bears (or wolves) inside all of us. Both are locked in an eternal struggle for the control of our souls. One bear is all things evil: fear, arrogance, self-destruction. The other is all things good: compassion, love, trustworthiness and humility.

We know there is much truth to this because we have all experienced the war waged between good and evil inside us. We have all had to struggle to do the thing we know is right, while having to resist the allure of doing something else.

The two bears inside West Indies batsman Jermaine Blackwood appear to be mighty combatants that, especially recently, seem to be fairly evenly matched. Neither is able to remain ascendant for extended periods. The good bear will hold the upper hand today, only to relinquish his position to the evil bear tomorrow.

Blackwood’s first Test was against New Zealand at the Queens Park Oval in Trinidad and Tobago in 2014, and after a bright start The Jamaican right-hander had to sit out a few games whenever the selectors decided to play an extra bowler. Having somewhat cemented his place later on, however, he lost it in 2017 after performances on tour of England and Zimbabwe that showed an unacceptable level of recklessness.

For too long his batting was marked by too many instances of indiscretion. But, after being cast into the wilderness, he rethought and refitted his game and came back to dominate the regional first-class competition.

Playing for the Jamaica Scorpions during the 2020 first-class season, Blackwood’s new approach was apparent for all to see. This new version of the previously bellicose batsman was more circumspect, less intent on gifting his wicket away. And he seemed to have taken to heart a hard truth about batting: the longer you stay at the crease the more runs you are likely to make.

Scorpions team coach Andre Coley, Blackwood recalled, advised him to temper his affinity for hitting in the air early in his innings: “When I used to start my innings, I used to hit the ball in the air a lot. Coach Coley told me to try and score my runs on the ground for at least the first hour or two hours and since I have made the adjustment, I started to spend more time at the crease and the runs started to accumulate.”

They accumulated to the tune of 768 runs in 15 innings at the admirable average of 51.20. On the back of that performance he made his way back into the Test squad for the 2020 tour of England.

It was, largely, the good bear that prevailed during this period. But under the glare and intensity of international cricket the evil bear reared a determined head once again. During the first innings of the first Test in Southampton Blackwood perished at mid-off, 22 balls and 12 runs into his Test comeback, after doing the very thing he pledged to abstain from doing – hitting the ball in the air early in his innings.

For the second innings, however, it was the good bear that held sway. Blackwood again perished at mid-off. But by then he had scored 95, and, in the process, dragged his team to within touching distance of an improbable victory. He had a few near-misses but his time in the middle was marked by restraint and discipline. He looked determined to stay at the crease long enough to ensure his side reached the finish line.

Further evidence of Blackwood’s new mindset came in the following Test at Old Trafford where a second innings 55 was notable for what was a judicious display of shot selection. And in the final Test, again in Manchester, he again exhibited signs that he was indeed trying to move away from his former ways. “That's the new way going forward for me,” he told Cricinfo prior to the tour, “just to bat as long as possible.”

On the tour to New Zealand that followed his second innings century in the first Test was well made, unfortunately for the West Indies it failed to stave off an innings and 138-runs defeat. And though there were a few hints of impulsiveness during the Bangladesh visit that came after New Zealand, one got the impression he was, largely, sticking to the pledge

During all that time you saw the struggle raging within him. You saw the occasional rashness, the moments he lost control of the leash he placed upon himself and made the wild swing or the odd hoick. For the most part, he strained to keep his more primal instincts in check. But, at times, and this is not at all surprising, he returned to his former ways and sought to unfold his full repertoire, often in the same over.

The Sri Lanka visit to the West Indies saw something of a reemergence of the evil bear. In four innings he scored a mere 42 runs and sometimes played in a manner we all hoped he had left behind. In at least two innings out of four he displayed the kind of impatience that often got him in trouble in the past.

Blackwood’s most recent performance against Sri Lanka has already spawned a few premature calls for his head. Unmistakably, the batsman has shown that with a level-headed approach he is able to excel at Test level.

Now vice-captain he has an even more responsibility to do the best he can for his team. It is clear he produces more when he is resolute at the crease, as opposed to when he goes in like a gunslinger with all weapons blazing. He should therefore do all that he can to ensure that it’s the good bear inside him that prevails.

Garfield Robinson

Caribbean Cricket News

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