We got the chance to speak to Mark while he was waiting to go into bat and for those people that haven’t had the chance to see him play, he’d describe himself as “having plenty of energy and being swing bowler who has a competitive edge that I think can benefit the team”.
He gave us his thoughts on being selected for this week’s game and how pleased he was to get those two wickets!
“Working hard in the winter to get myself match fit was my first target at the end of 2010 because I had had a couple of injuries. I then wanted to focus on having another good season in the seconds and hopefully progress into the first team. That was my goal. My chance came earlier than expected but was definitely a nice a surprise and an opportunity that I was very happy to take.
“The way the first team players welcomed me into the side has made my debut a lot easier, I think with the club being as friendly as it is it’s easy to take that step up. Confidence wise, taking those two wickets yesterday was a big boost. I was a little bit nervous but once the first ball was out of the way it was back to playing as usual and to pick up the wickets and finish with good figures well, I was happy with that.
“My style suited the conditions, I think it’s got me this far and I’m not looking to make any changes, it worked well for me. If I can stay injury free and keep working hard I think I have every chance to challenging for a place in the side again”.
At the close Blackwell told us how important it was to get the ball rolling and notch up some runs plus how happy the squad were for Liam Plunkett when he raised that bat after scoring his maiden first class century!
“It was good to get some time in the middle in British conditions after our tour in Dubai. It’s important to start the season with some momentum, you always want to start the season scoring runs and it’s great to have hit the ground running. I started well against the MCC in the opening match in my first year for Durham and that set my standard for what was a really successful season for the team and me personally so hopefully this is a positive sign for more of the same.
“We’ve all put a lot of hard work in over the winter months so to see the batting line up performing well today is great. The lads were really pleased to see Liam score his maiden first class hundred, he came so close against Sussex a few years back so it will mean a lot to him too.”