By Neto Baptiste
Former West Indies fast bowler and one of four knighted former players here, Sir Andy Roberts, believes that young Antiguan fast bowler Alzarri Joseph, must focus on his personal development if he wants his game to constantly progress.
Speaking on the Good Morning Jojo Sports Show, Sir Andy — who was one of the most feared fast bowlers of his time — said Joseph seems to struggle with fitness from time to time and that this could hamper his ability to always perform at his best.
“It takes time for one to develop and Alzarri, over the last year or two, has shown inclinations of hot and cold so he needs to start focusing on his ability, his strength and fitness. I think that is probably one of the reasons why you find he is hot and cold, because the level of his fitness,” he said.
Joseph, in his three ODI matches against Afghanis, claimed two wickets at an average of 61.50. He bowled 20 overs for 123 runs.
According to Sir Andy, the 2016 ICC Under-19 World Cup champion could get back to his former self with just a bit of hard work and dedication.
“He shouldn’t focus primarily on fitness because he has to maintain his skills. He needs to work on both at the same time, which means that he has to spend a lot of time working on his skills. If the coach gives him something to do, he needs to be able to go back and work at it day in and day out whereas he can work on his fitness with the team, he has to work on his skills on his own,” the former player said.
Joseph recently returned from a shoulder injury he sustained while playing in the India Premier League (IPL) for the Mumbai Indians.
Joseph took a bad tumble while trying to prevent the ball from reaching the boundary in Mumbai’s game against Rajasthan Royals in April.