WORCESTER, England, CMC – Alzarri Joseph’s all-round skills have grabbed the attention of Worcestershire head coach, Alex Gidman, who now believes the West Indies Test star can make a key contribution with both bat and ball during his stint with the county.
Playing on County Championship debut last week against Derbyshire, the 24-year-old snatched three wickets in the match and hit an attractive 46 in the first innings as Gloucestershire forced a draw at Derby. With the visitors slumping on 231 for seven, Joseph arrived to lash eight fours and a six in a breezy 55-ball knock, while adding 51 for the eighth wicket with Ed Barnard (23) to get the total up to 305 in reply to Derbyshire’s 390.
“There were some glimpses of some serious bowling in there, so looking forward to how he contributes over the next few weeks,” Gidman said looking ahead to Thursday’s start of Worcestershire’s clash against Nottinghamshire at New Road here.
“He also made a huge contribution with the bat in the first innings and is happy and an excellent character to have around.”
Joseph has played 16 Tests for West Indies and taken 38 wickets with his right-arm pace but it has been with his vastly improved batting that he has impressed of recent, hitting half-centuries against New Zealand last December and Bangladesh last March.
Snapped up by the West Midlands outfit for the first seven matches of the Championship, Joseph arrived straight from the two-Test series against Sri Lanka in Antigua last month.
Forced to quarantine on arrival in England under government COVID-19 directives, Joseph enjoyed only a brief training stint before the Derby fixture and Gidman said it had showed, especially in the bowling.
“It was always going to be a tough start for Alzarri, having not played for a couple of weeks, having to isolate and not being able to get up to much,” he pointed out.
“Understandably, it will take him a few overs to get up to speed, but I think he got better and better as the match at Derby went on.”
Worcestershire lie fourth in Group I on 26 points after drawing their two opening games, both away fixtures, and Gidman said they were looking forward to finally playing at home.
“It’s been a tough year for everyone but having not been at New Road in pre-season because of the floods, the lads are chomping at the bit to get back. They are looking forward to it,” he stressed.
“We’ve had a couple of practices there since the beginning of the season, so it will be nice to settle back in at home and get playing there. Notts are a team we hugely respect.
“But having had two really good results away from home and fought hard, I’m sure the lads are really looking forward to it.”
