Fast bowler Alzarri Joseph said the crowning moment of his career will come when West Indies reclaims its spot at the top of world cricket.
Speaking recently on the Good Morning Jojo sports show, the newly minted Sportsman of the Year for 2024, was clear in pointing out that his focus remains on playing his role in elevating West Indies cricket.
“For me, I want to see West Indies cricket back where I think it belongs, being world champions and if you realize now, there is a Test Championship. Our Test cricket is not in the best state but if I could leave it in a better place than where I met it then I’d be happy with what I’ve done in my career,” he said.
West Indies, as of February this year, is ranked eighth on the ICC Test Rankings with 2433 points. Only Bangladesh, Ireland, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe are ranked below the Caribbean team. Joseph is currently ranked 34th in the ICC Test bowling rankings with a total of 536 points. He is 139th on the batting list and is ranked 40th overall as an all-rounder.
Since his Test debut in August of 2016, Joseph has played 37 Test matches, taking 111 wickets with a bowling average of 35.00 and has scored 701 runs with a batting average of 11.88.
The 28 year old said that when things get tough, he still consults former coach and close friend, former West Indies fast bowler, Winston Benjamin.
“I’ve always had Winston in my corner regardless of where I am, what time of day and unless he is not seriously unavailable he would take my call and we’d speak for hours or sometimes it would just take a few minutes but he is who I really go back to. I ask him to keep an eye on me regardless of where I go. I try to not get too much information from too many different people because I don’t want to confuse anything so I more stick to Winston. He’s seen me from the age of 14 come right up, so any bad habits I pick up on tour he’s able to help me iron them out quicker than anything else,” he said.
Despite his international stature as a cricketer, Joseph is no stranger to local cricket here in Antigua, seizing every opportunity to turn out for local club, All Saints Pythons. The player said he enjoys every moment with his home team but hopes his presence serves to encourage others.
“The guys enjoy when I come back and play because I think that for them, it’s more about watching the opposition have a hard time playing against me. So they enjoy it but I don’t really get to be here much so I get to share my experience with most of the guys to see how many other players I can try to come through to the sport because this game could really change your life,” the player said.
In All Saints’ recent Two-Day clash against Empire Nation, Joseph bagged three for 34 in 12.2 overs and four for 39 in 15 overs in the opponent’s first and second innings respectively. Empire won the contest by 44 runs.
