Reds: CWI dropped ball on Alzarri; and Pakistan will test his self-control

“[…] The West Indies board may have, as I wrote, taken Alzarri Joseph out of the England series and provided him with professional help, so he might have been able to come back and go to Pakistan in a much better mental place. But that was not done.

“They felt that having him play the two matches against England in Saint Lucia was more important… I think one must consider that Pakistan is a difficult place to play Test cricket…”

The following guest column on West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph’s disciplinary issues and the injury suffered by his namesake Shamar Joseph was submitted to Wired868 by veteran cricket commentator Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira:

They say in war, there is a red line. They say among marriages, there’s a red line.

There is a red line also in terms of sport. And if you go back to the first time that the management of the West Indies team thought the red line had been crossed, it was in 1959 by Roy Gilchrist, the Jamaican and West Indies genuine fast bowler.

He was alleged to have bowled beamers at an Indian batsman, and the management thought that it was inexcusable and an action that they could not tolerate—and he was sent back to the West Indies.

It’s a feeling by some who I managed to speak to during the course of my career that if Sir Frank Worrell was in India, that incident may not have happened and he might never have bowled those beamers.

But to come back to the red line, I think the red line may have been crossed by Alzarri Joseph at Kensington. I’m struggling to find out whether that was ever done in such a manner, where a player walks off at an international match, doesn’t inform the umpire, and leaves his team to field with 10 players. I think that was unprecedented.

Not surprisingly, there was then an incident in Saint Kitts with ICC umpire Gregory Brathwaite, where, as reported, he (Joseph), before the start of play, walked on to the playing area with his boots on and, when spoken to by the umpire, responded with language that was deemed not appropriate.

He was further reported and, of course, fined, and there was a demerit point.

Now, the West Indies board may have, as I wrote, taken him out of the England series and provided him with professional help, so he might have been able to come back and go to Pakistan in a much better mental place. But that was not done.

They felt that having him play the two matches against England in Saint Lucia was more important. They felt that they didn’t need to take him out of the T20I matches against Bangladesh in Saint Vincent and maybe get a period of treatment for him.

And now the clock is ticking; because in a very few days, the team will be selected to go to Pakistan, and it is expected that Alzarri Joseph will be chosen.

I think one must consider that Pakistan is a difficult place to play Test cricket. Pakistan crowds have seen exactly what took place in Barbados, and the Pakistan crowd has read about the demerit point he earned in Saint Kitts, with the altercation with the umpire Brathwaite.

A Pakistan crowd could easily get under the skin of Alzarri Joseph knowing the problems he has had in recent weeks.

Now, I’ve been to Pakistan. They are a cricket-loving nation, and they follow the game with great gusto and great spirit. They will ensure a testing time for Alzarri Joseph.

Here’s hoping nothing untoward happens, and he does his utmost best to keep his cool and simply concentrate on getting the kind of success with the ball that is needed.

He did not receive the professional treatment that he should have had from the West Indies board, but I hope they do everything to support him in Pakistan.

There’s also a question on the other Joseph, Shamar Joseph, who’s been injured with shin splints and, quite rightly. taken out of the present series. But we’ve heard no report on what treatment he is receiving under the auspices of Cricket West Indies.

Now, shin splints are a problem with fast bowlers who really need the correct treatment immediately if they are to recover 100 per cent. If the injury is not properly handled, Shamar Joseph could lose some of his genuine speed and come back as a medium-pace bowler.

Here’s hoping the West Indies board would put out a statement soon enlightening the Caribbean people of what has been done to ensure that he is getting the best treatment possible towards his future.

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