Alzarri Joseph

Age: 29y 357d
Bats: Right-hand
Bowls: Right-arm fast
From: Antigua

Age: 29y 357d
Bats: Right-hand
Bowls: Right-arm fast
From: Antigua

Alzarri Joseph is an Antiguan fast bowler whose early promise carried him quickly into the West Indies set-up. He first played club cricket with the same club his father had once belonged to, then moved through the age-group ranks, where he enjoyed success representing Antigua. His bowling was shaped under the guidance of Winston Benjamin, a former West Indies quick, and the bowler he looks up to most is Dale Steyn.

His profile rose sharply at the 2016 Under-19 World Cup. He was part of the West Indies team that lifted the trophy and was clocked as the fastest bowler at the event. Tall, with an effortless action and real pace, he drew attention well beyond the youth game, and calls grew for an early senior call-up.

Those calls were answered in 2016, when he was picked in the Test squad to face India at home. Aged 19, he made an immediate impression, removing Virat Kohli with a hostile delivery within his first three overs. Later that year he also made his ODI debut, against Pakistan in Sharjah.

Injury then halted his progress. During the tour of New Zealand in December 2017 he suffered a stress fracture in his back, which kept him away from international cricket for close to seven months. After recovering, he featured in the home series against Bangladesh and turned out for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the Caribbean Premier League. Although first selected for the tour of India, he was replaced by Sherman Lewis after a Cricket West Indies medical panel advised that he continue rehabilitating until fully fit for international play. In October 2018 Cricket West Indies handed him an all-format central contract for the 2018-19 season.