Photo Credit: Cricket West Indies
West Indies assistant coach Roddy Estwick said young pacers Alzarri Joseph and the uncapped Chemar Holder stand poised to make a name for themselves on the Tour of New Zealand. Joseph and Holder are part of the team preparing for a two-Test series against the Black Caps next month.
The two young pacers are well remembered for carrying West Indies to the ICC Under-19 World Cup title four years ago in Bangladesh. Estwick said the future looks bright for Joseph, Holder and the Caribbean side’s pace bowling stocks.
Joseph, 23, has played 11 Tests for the West Indies over the past four years and taken 28 wickets at 35.82 apiece. The 22-year-old Holder was among the leading bowlers in the regional first-class tournament earlier this year. He took 36 wickets at 18.91 each for champions Barbados Pride. He earned selection on the squad in England earlier this year but did not play in any of the three Tests.
“Over the last two years, Kemar Roach, Jason Holder and Shannon Gabriel have been our leading bowlers in Tests and we expect them to lead the attack,” Estwick said during a video conference with the media on Monday from the team’s training base in Christchurch. “But there is also Alzarri for whom I have high expectations on this Tour. He has been around for quite some time and I have been trying to get him to realise that it is about time now that he really stands up and puts in the big performances, which will be very important for us on this tour.” Estwick added: “You always get excited about young fast bowlers. I said before the Tour of England last June that we have about 10 young, exciting pacers, but what we have to do is to get matches for them to play. They need to play to understand the angles, to be able to understand and read the pitches, and to understand the right lengths to bowl. “Chemar is an exciting talent. He had a wonderful first-class season and his time will come. There is no doubt about it… He is an exciting prospect. He is also very, very, very hardworking and fit young man, so once his opportunity comes, he will be ready to grab it with both hands.”
Name of Author: Cricket West Indies
Cricket West Indies (CWI) governs cricket across the West Indies, a confederation of Caribbean countries. Originally established as the West Indies Cricket Board of Control in the 1920s, it became the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) in 1996 and was rebranded as Cricket West Indies in May 2017 as part of a restructuring effort.
