Interim West Indies bowling coach, Kenny Benjamin says that Antiguan pacer Alzzari Joseph is built like Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and that body shape will make him great in the future.
Former Windies fast bowler Benjamin himself made the same comments about Alzzari on Observer Radio’s Good Morning Jojo Sports Specials program in Antigua recently.
Many cricket experts have pointed out that Joseph, who made his debut for the regional team in 2016, has the talent to be one of the bowlers to not only take the team forward, but also get a legacy similar to the past players.
“Alzarri is a super athlete. He’s not as fast as Usain Bolt but he looks like Usain Bolt. You see all the cuts, all the chisels, and I myself envy him.” He said
Speaking further, Benjamin says that many things that were expected of him years ago are being done now.
“I think Alzarri is growing from strength to strength, and I think that we can expect great things from him. He looks like he’s enjoying his cricket — he looks relaxed — and I’m just happy that he’s really and truly now showing everybody what we all knew that he can do years ago.” He added
Alzzari Joseph developed from a highly rated prospect to a reliable performer for West Indies in 2022. Not lacking in pace but sometimes in accuracy, Joseph worked on his shortcomings and became a fearsome prospect for the batsmen to face.
Joseph played 17 matches and took 27 wickets at an average of 25.70 and a strike rate of 33.4. He was also stingy with an economy rate of 4.61 with best figures of 3/36. He was the second highest wicket-taker for West Indies in 2022, ahead of Akel Hossain.
In addition, he took 03 wickets in the first match of the currently ongoing Zimbabwe Test, and managed to take a wicket in the first innings of the second Test which started today.
The former West Indies coach talked about fitness by taking the example of England’s James Anderson (40) and Stuart Broad (36) and Australia’s Mitchell Starc (33).
“It has always been a debate as to who is stronger and fitter,” he said. “I believe the players now are stronger and fitter than ever. I think they’re going to get stronger and fitter as more science is applied to sports.”
“Broad and Anderson are two of the players that have played for a long time. Look at Starc — for the last 24 months or so he hasn’t had an injury. He’s chiseled, he’s a big unit, and he bowls fast.” Benjamin Continues
Benjamin says the region must do more to embrace sports science, or be left behind,
“It’s going in the right direction and I just believe that we need to grasp it and appreciate that that is where sports are going. We’re not gonna truly move on until we adapt, one hundred percent.” He concluded