By Neto Baptiste
Former West Indies fast bowler Sir Andy Roberts believes that a recent stint in the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) County Championship, should have provided young West Indies speedster Alzarri Joseph with an opportunity to hone his skills both on and off the pitch.
Joseph represented Worcestershire for the first seven games of the 2021 County Championship season, ending his six-game contract with 15 wickets at an average of 38.26.
Sir Andy, who played First Class cricket for Hampshire County Cricket Club and then later for Leicestershire County Cricket Club, hopes the Antiguan also took time out to work on his weaknesses in the nets.
“I am just hoping that he spent most of his time in the nets learning to hone his craft because there is no point to playing County cricket and you don’t learn nothing from playing County cricket. For years I’ve been saying the same thing over and over like the record is stuck; personal development is the key to success,” he said.
Joseph, who arrived in the Caribbean on Wednesday, left Worcestershire as their leading wicket-taker with an innings best of 2 for 22 and a best of 4 for 106 in a match. The Antiguan also did well with the bat, hitting a total of 148 runs in six matches with a highest of 61.
Sir Andy hinted that cricketers in the Country Championship don’t play as many matches within a short timeframe today, as they did in the past.
“He spent some time in England which everyone feels like that is the bedrock for development because of the amount of cricket that you play, but gone are the days when you use to play seven days or sometimes, 12 to 14 days in a row, and if you can’t develop from that system then you can’t develop,” he said.
Joseph signed up with the league in April, following the West Indies series against Sri Lanka.