Alzarri Joseph: The family man who made it

Shortly after Alzarri Joseph had taken 6 for 12 on IPL debut for Mumbai Indians last year, a reporter asked him why he doesn’t show much emotion when he gets a wicket. A little grin usually does the trick. Maybe a small fist bump. No Imran Tahir histrionics. Sometimes you wouldn’t even know he has just got someone out.

“I don’t really celebrate wickets,” Joseph replied to the reporter. “I celebrate wins.” It was a revealing answer.

There has been plenty of hype surrounding Joseph since he burst onto the scene as part of West Indies’ Under-19 World Cup-winning squad four years ago. A Test debut followed soon after, accompanied by a heavy dose of expectation. After all, the next great West Indian fast-bowler is long overdue. It would have been easy, then, to get carried away with all the compliments and the accolades, but Joseph’s priorities have remained very much down to earth: family, community and team. Wins, not wickets.

That Joseph is one of the most exciting fast-bowling talents in world cricket is not in doubt. He has all the right attributes. Genuine pace, steep bounce from his 6′ 4″ frame, lovely shape away from the right-hander. He has an action to die for, simultaneously smooth and explosive. He has already displayed significant improvement during his short career and there’s no reason to think there isn’t more to come. If he can stay fit and stay hungry, who knows how much he might achieve?

Although it took a little while for Joseph to realise it, he was always destined to play for the West Indies, at least according to his grandmother, Eileen. “I remember my grandmother telling me she always knew that the next person from Antigua to play for the West Indies was going to be me,” Joseph tells Fame Dubai. “She was really happy when she got the opportunity to see that.”

Eileen is a huge cricket fan and used to tell Joseph bedtime stories about the greats of West Indian and Antiguan cricket, Richards, Roberts and Ambrose. Both his late mother, Sharon, and his father, Alva, played cricket. Growing up in All Saints, a town smack bang in the middle of the island, cricket was a constant in his life. “I would never miss a game in Antigua once it’s being played,” Joseph says. “I would always be in the stands watching.” Moreover, he would wake up at 3AM to watch Dale Steyn bowl for South Africa, trying to pick up some tips from his idol.

In addition to cricket, the importance of family has been a constant theme of Joseph’s life too. His mother passed away last February, on the second day of the second Test against England. Sharon had been ill for some time, but that didn’t make it any less of a shock. Joseph chose to play on, picking up vital wickets on the third day. Although he was wrecked by grief, he still wanted to be out there, doing his Mum proud. His captain, Jason Holder, dedicated the West Indies’ series win to Sharon.

The grief is still there, of course; a daily challenge. Understandably, it’s still tough to talk about, so the topic is avoided in conversation. However, when Joseph dons the maroon cap of the West Indies, thoughts of Sharon, and his family, are never far away. “My family is one of my biggest motivations because they are always behind me,” Joseph says. “They look up to me to always do my best and represent them well. When I am playing, I am not just playing for myself; I represent my family, my country and the whole West Indies.”

“When I am playing, I am not just playing for myself; I represent my family, my country and the whole West Indies.”

Joseph started out playing for Empire CC, the club where his father played, but returned to play for his local club in All Saints after a couple of seasons. “I decided I wanted to play for my village and represent my community,” he says. “That’s just something you always want to do, represent where you are from.” He didn’t really take cricket seriously until he was 14 or so and only realised he might have a talent for the game when he was playing Under-17s for the Leeward Islands.

“I was bowling pretty quick and started to put in some really hard work,” he says. “I was like, ‘Ok this could really be my calling’. I decided I was going to put in some extra work, I’m really going to take this cricket seriously. It was a pretty quick jump for me. From the start of taking cricket seriously at 14 to playing Test cricket at 19, it was just something that you would never think is possible in such a short period of time.”

Winston Benjamin, the former West Indian fast bowler, played a key role in Joseph’s rise. When he started to work with Benjamin, Joseph used to run up from 35 yards, jump really high and hurl the ball down the other end. “Wherever it went, it went.” He could swing the ball but did not know how to control it. Benjamin helped Joseph make changes to his run-up, wrist position and delivery stride. It took time but the improvement was substantial. “He really put everything together to what you see now which is my bowling action,” Joseph says.

Joseph was a key part of the West Indies’ Under-19 World Cup-winning side in 2016, taking 13 wickets at 13.76 with an economy rate of 3.31. He was too quick and too good. Joseph’s performances prompted Ian Bishop to call for his immediate inclusion in the senior squad and six months later, as a 19-year-old, he made his Test debut, against India in St Lucia. He wasted little time making his presence felt. In his third over in Test cricket, a quick, spiteful ball reared up sharply at Virat Kohli, who could only fend to first slip. “It was a fairly good delivery,” Joseph says, as if dismissing one of the world’s best at 19 was an everyday occurrence.

He has only played nine Tests since then, partly as a result of injuries – he suffered a stress fracture of the back at the end of 2017 and then dislocated his shoulder during last year’s IPL – and partly because it took him time to adapt to the demands of Test cricket. He played one match on West Indies’ last tour of England, the day/night Test at Edgbaston, registering figures of 0 for 109 from 22 overs. He was quick but erratic and was consequently dropped for the rest of the series.

The bowler England encountered 18 months later, however, was much improved. Coming on first change, instead of taking the ball as he had done in all his previous appearances, Joseph was still quick, still able to swing the ball and still aggressive, but with the control and accuracy, he had lacked in Birmingham. He took 10 wickets at 23.80 as West Indies reclaimed the Wisden Trophy.

“It’s a lot harder than I expected,” he says of Test cricket. “You have to go through different conditions, play against different types of players. Sometimes you come across a batsman that’s playing really well so while you’re in a condition that suits you, you still don’t get the success that you really want. It’s a tough game, it’s a patient game. I had to learn some patience after my first couple of games. But it’s a challenge and that’s just what the job is.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to play Test cricket for the West Indies. Ever since I started to play that’s been my goal. That was and still is my favourite format. I don’t think you can get any higher than Test cricket so this was where I always wanted to be. This is the form that I love playing because I get to show all my abilities to the world.”

“I don’t think you can get any higher than Test cricket so this was where I always wanted to be.”

Joseph hasn’t played Test cricket since that series against England in the Caribbean. The West Indies have only played three Tests in that time and the injury Joseph suffered at last year’s IPL ruled him out of two of them. He has impressed in ODI cricket of late, though, picking up 24 wickets in his last 12 matches and West Indies coach Phil Simmons has spoken highly of his developing maturity and consistency. He will hope to transfer that form to the Test arena in next month’s series against England.

There is a lovely photo of Joseph and his mother, taken at the airport in Antigua after he arrived home from that Under-19 World Cup. He has his arm wrapped around her, pulling her close to him, with a wide grin and happy eyes. Sharon, too, is smiling from ear to ear, her pride and happiness evident. Representing his family, his community and his team, her son had done her proud. He continues to do just that.