During the third ODI between West Indies and England in Bridgetown, West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph stormed off the field following a tense exchange with his captain, Shai Hope.
The incident took place early in England’s innings when the hosts had them at 1-10 in the fourth over.
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Joseph, who has briefly appeared for Gujarat Titans and later RCB in the IPL, appeared visibly frustrated with the field placement after his first delivery was guided to point.
He gestured toward the slips, signaling his discontent to Hope. Despite dismissing England’s Jordan Cox later in the over with a well-placed 148 km/h bouncer, Joseph’s mood did not improve. West Indies head coach Darren Sammy was even seen on the boundary line attempting to calm the bowler.
When the over concluded, Joseph marched off the field, leaving the West Indies with just ten players on the ground.
Substitute fielder Hayden Walsh Jr. began preparing to step in, but Joseph soon returned, taking a seat in the dugout.
After the next over, he rejoined the field, but the West Indies opted to replace him in the attack with fellow fast bowler Romario Shepherd. This change quickly paid off, as Shepherd removed Jacob Bethell with his first ball.
Commentator and former England batter Mark Butcher remarked on the incident, stating, “Many is the time, as a captain or as a player, that you have a disagreement about something on the field. But you work that out either behind closed doors, or you get on with your job.”
West Indies ultimately regrouped, though Joseph’s outburst was an unexpected and unusual occurrence on the field.
Joseph finished his spell with figures of 10-1-45-2, with the anger reflecting in each of his deliveries as he nearly touched the 150kph mark multiple times.
Joseph is a genuine fast bowling prospect even in the shorter forms of the game, having made a name through the Caribbean Premier League when he beat AB de Villiers for pace and smashed a bouncer onto his helmet.
Although de Villiers responded with a six next ball, Joseph had become famous with that one delivery and higher honours with West Indies and other franchises globally soon arrived.
In the IPL, Joseph first played for Mumbai Indians in 2019, but had a more extended spell with Gujarat Titans between 2022 and 2023, where he took 14 wickets in 16 games. He was bought by RCB at the IPL 2024 auction for a whopping INR 11.5 crores, but it failed to translate into performances.
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In 3 games for RCB, Joseph took just 1 wicket and averaged 115 with the ball while almost conceding runs at a rate of 12 runs per over, one of the worst in the league.
He has subsequently been released into the auction pool and has a chance to attract a bid at the IPL 2025 auction with his performances for West Indies and other leagues ahead of the auction on November 24, 25 in Jeddah.
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