Blackwood comes in as concussion sub after Bravo retires hurt

West Indies have drafted Jermaine Blackwood into their XI for the Jamaica Test as a concussion substitute for Darren Bravo.

Bravo retired hurt on 23 on the fourth morning of the Test, having just driven Jasprit Bumrah to the cover boundary in the fourth over of the day.

Bravo had taken a blow to the helmet in the last over of day three, off a bouncer from Bumrah. The ball had struck the right side of his helmet, and sent his stem guards – which protect the batsman’s neck area – flying. He faced two more balls on the third evening, and a further ten balls on Monday morning.

A medical examination confirmed a concussion, and match referee David Boon has approved West Indies’ request for Blackwood to come into the game as a substitute.

A CWI spokesperson said Bravo had undergone a concussion test after the end of the third day’s play, and passed it.

Blackwood came into bat at the fall of the fourth wicket, with West Indies needing a further 370 runs to win the Test, or survive just under five-and-a-half sessions to save it.

Blackwood wasn’t in West Indies’ original squad, but is from Jamaica, and had earlier fielded as a substitute during the match. The last of his 27 previous Test appearances came in Bulawayo in October-November 2017.

He becomes the second concussion substitute in men’s Test cricket, after the Australia batsman Marnus Labuschagne, who came in for Steven Smith in the Lord’s Ashes Test last month. (ESPNCricinfo)