Alzarri Joseph eyeing consistency during England tour: The West Indian pacer is currently on his second tour of England.
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West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph is unperturbed by head coach Phil Simmons self-isolating in his Old Trafford hotel room after exiting the bio-secure bubble to attend a funeral.
“That doesn’t really disrupt our preparations. We have our jobs to do – we have our preparation to keep going with. We have a very big coaching staff here that are very supportive of each other, so that’s not really a problem for anyone,” Joseph was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Joseph, 23, had played a solitary Test in Birmingham during West Indies’ tour of England in 2017. Having played three Tests (all against England) since then, Joseph is likely to playing as a fourth seamer alongside the likes of Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel and captain Jason Holder during the first Test against England next month.
“My job is to come in and just back those bowlers”
Joseph, who picked six wickets while representing WI Holder XI in the recently concluded warm-up match, considers him as a “weak link” which can get top of the English batting lineup.
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“Obviously those three guys have a lot more experience than I do,” Joseph said. “I’d think more often than not, teams would see me as the weaker link. I think my job is to come in and just back those bowlers [up] and keep the pressure on.
“It’s not necessarily because of age, but because of the number of matches I’ve played compared to the other three bowlers. I could use it as an advantage – I know my abilities and they [England] might not know. But once I turn up on the day and get the job done, I know I can get on top of any opponent,” Joseph further said.
Alzarri Joseph eyeing consistency during England tour
Opening up on his experience of playing in England, Joseph laid emphasis on remaining consistent. With conditions more suitable than back home for bowlers of his type, Joseph is aware of making slight adjustments to yield optimum results in the three-match series.
“I’m just looking to stay consistent. I think I bowled pretty well [this week] so I’m just looking to repeat what I did in the last game. [The 2017 tour] was a really big learning experience for me, my first time in England. So I have some experience here now – I know how to bowl in these conditions my second time around.
“The ball does a bit more here in England than in the Caribbean. It’s just some slight adjustments, nothing too big but some simple adjustments. For me, I think it’s about being consistent round that good area, extracting whatever movement you can get off the pitch, and sticking to plans as long as possible,” Joseph added.
