Jermaine Blackwood played the innings of the match to set up West Indies’ win in the first Test against England, but he might not have been in the side had Darren Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer not opted out of the tour.

West Indies captain Jason Holder admitted he was “not sure” if Blackwood would have been picked, with the Jamaican having not started a Test since 2017. But he said the batsman, whose 95 took West Indies most of the way towards their 200-run target at the Ageas Bowl, was the “kind of guy you want to step on to a field with”, and praised his team-oriented approach.

Blackwood has an excellent record against England, averaging 55.00 from seven Tests, and was selected for the touring party after leading the way in West Indies’ domestic first-class competition. However, his path to a recall was smoothed by the absence of Bravo and Hetmyer, who joined Keemo Paul in declining to travel to the UK over concerns about Covid-19.

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“Not sure, he had an outstanding first-class competition,” Holder said of Blackwood’s case to play. “I’m not going to get into selection but his case was pretty strong to get back into the team, he scored a double-hundred this year in a first-class game. Unfortunately for me I haven’t been able to see him bat but his numbers speak for themselves. He’s no slouch with the bat at this level either in comparison to our players that we’ve got, he’s averaging above 30 and he’s done well for us. I just hope he can kick on and make a few more hundreds.”

Five more runs would have given Blackwood only his second Test century (his first came against England in 2015), but he said after the game that personal milestones were a secondary concern and he was just aiming to implement a plan to spend more time at the crease than previously.

“I wasn’t thinking about the hundred at no point in time, I was just looking to get the score going and to get the team across the line,” he told Sky Sports.

“Once I can go out there and I bat time, bat over 200 balls an innings, even 180, for sure I think I will score runs. I think all the hard work is paying off so far, so once I can go out there and just be my natural self and then just mix it with a bit of patience. I think that will certainly boost me for the next game and right through my career.”

Asked about Blackwood’s desire to put the team first, Holder said he was the sort of player who wants to “carry everybody on his shoulders”.

“Jermaine Blackwood, man. If I had 12 Jermaine Blackwoods, those are the kind of guys you want to step on to a cricket field with. These are team guys, through thick and thin. I’ve played lots of cricket with and lots of cricket against [him], we played all our youth cricket together and played a youth World Cup together, so I know the player.

“That’s why when things happen like how they did in the first innings, yeah you’re disappointed, but you can’t put a player like that into his shell. So it’s more about trying to manage him and help him try to understand the different passages of play, where he can be a little bit more collective, where he needs to settle and hang in for a bit before going on the attack again. He is an attacking player, but it’s giving him that confidence and support.

“He’s a humble team man, I know when he crosses the line he’ll give it his all. I’m not surprised by the comment he made because he is a team man. Sometimes he feels as though he can carry everybody on his shoulders. He’s that confident of a player.”

Blackwood eventually fell driving to mid-off, in much the same manner as he had done in the first innings, when he managed just 12 off 22 balls. Holder was reluctant to curb the attacking style of his No. 6, but urged him to “give yourself a good chance” second time around.

“After his first-innings dismissal I said nothing to it. He knew what he had done. And he knew that he’s a better player than what he did in the first innings, so there was no need to talk to him. I thought he was a very crucial guy for us in this run chase. Him and probably John Campbell – these guys when they get going score relatively quickly, and can really swing the tide for us, when they form partnerships, but obviously we lost John [retired hurt] up front.

“I just said to Jermaine, give yourself a chance. Give yourself a good chance – see a few balls and then play your game. If you see a ball in your arc and you feel you can put the ball away, put it away, because that’s the way he plays. I don’t like to get into players’ heads and congesting their brains with too much information. They’re all responsible enough, they all know themselves well enough. We’re all just here to help one another. Lots of these guys in the dressing room help me in significant ways.

“I don’t need to speak to Jermaine seeing how he got out in the first innings. He knew what he had done wrong – for him it’s just to go and give himself a chance and play the game he knows.”