Alzarri Joseph

The 24-year-old fast bowler has long been tipped to give West Indies the type of firepower typical of years gone by but is yet to completely deliver on that promise.

The young bowler has shown plenty of flashes of that prodigious talent.  He put in a strong performance against England, in 2019, and took a record-breaking six for 12 on his debut for Mumbai Indians.  Joseph has, however, not produced such performances consistently.  Joseph, who made his debut in 2016, has taken 38 Test wickets in 16 matches and 54 One Day International wickets in 34 matches.

“It’s disappointing that he does not seem to have gone on from the time he started until now, there doesn’t seem to be any great improvement,” Edwards told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“He seems to be bowling wide of the crease to right-handers, angling it.  He should get as close to the stumps as possible,” he added.

“He is not accurate, he had not been able to develop as much as you would have expected.  He is not a real swinger of the ball, he is athletic, he looks like he bowls pretty fast, but he is not doing much with the ball.”

Following the recent series in South Africa, Hope has moved up two places in the batting to 12th position. He made a match-wining 128 not out – his 14th ODI century – in his first match as captain which the West Indies defeated the home side at Buffalo Park in East London.

 Joseph made a giant leap of eight places to 11th spot after the two matches. He bowled with genuine pace and penetration and took 3-53 in East London which was followed up by 3-50 in the next match at JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom. He now has an impressive record of 93 wickets in 56 matches at an average of 27 runs per wicket and strike rate of just under 31. Left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein is the other West Indies bowler in the Top 20. He took 3-59 and 2-49 in the two matches to break into the top tier.

 West Indies and South Africa played to a 1-1 result in the series. The first match was washed out, West Indies won the second by 48 runs while the Proteas won the third by four wickets.

The series now moves to Centurion for the first T20 International which will be played at SuperSports Park on Saturday. First ball is 2pm (8am Eastern Caribbean/7am Jamaica

The win means the home side’s seven-match losing streak continues as they ceded the three-match series to India with one match remaining.

India started slowly but eventually got the measure of the West Indies attack with half-centuries from Shreyas Ayer (63) and Sanju Samson (54) but it was Axar Patel whose quick-fire 64 from 35 balls that powered India over the line with a straight six from the fourth ball of the final over bowled by Kyle Mayers.

Mayers finished with 2-48 from 7.4 overs. Alzarri Joseph bowled well for his 2-46 from 10. Jayden Seales proved economical taking 1-40 from his allotment.

Earlier, after the West Indies had won the toss and chose to bat first, Hope scored 115 as the West Indies posted 311-6 from their 50 overs.

After sharing in an opening stand of 65 with Kyle Mayers who made 39, Hope also featured in a second-wicket partnership of 62 with Shamarh Brooks who contributed 32 before he too was dismissed after getting a start.

Brandon King made nought from five balls before Hope and Captain Nicolas Pooran shared in a 127-run partnership for the fourth wicket that got the West Indies back on track for another score over 300. Pooran was eventually dismissed for 74 with the West Indies positioned at 280-5 in the 44^th over.

Hope finally fell in the 49^th over, caught in the deep trying to hit over the long-off boundary as the West Indies' rate of scoring dipped. The home side managed 31 off the next six overs while also losing the wickets of Rovman Powell for 13 and Romario Shepherd for 14, something that West Indies would come to regret.

Shardul Thakur was the pick of the Indian bowlers with 3-54 from his seven overs but India’s ability to restrict the West Indies' scoring in the death overs was largely due to the excellent bowling of Mohammad Siraj, who ended wicket-less but who the West Indies batters found difficult to get away in the final three overs.

In an encounter marred by messy fielding from the Caribbean team, Matthew Wade and Mitchell Starc got the Aussies over the line, with a ball remaining, but the last over, bowled by paCer Sheldon Cottrell, was one filled with drama.  Needing just 11 from the last 6, Wade was dropped in the deep by Raymon Reifer off the second ball and an opportunity to stump Starc on his way back for the winning run was also missed out on.

As a result, the Aussies got home at 146 for 7, surpassing the West Indies' first innings tally of 145 for 9.  Aussie captain Aaron Finch batted in the unfamiliar position of 4 but top-scored with a valuable 58.  A visibly disgruntled Cottrell ended with figures of 2 for 49, while Joseph ended with a tidy 2 for 17 and 7 runs with the bat.  The bowler would admittedly have preferred a win but took some solace in a decent outing with the ball.

“For me, it’s always about trying to add that one percent every day.  Keep on trusting the process, keep on training hard and keep doing what I need to do to get the success,” Joseph said following the match.

“It wasn’t the result we wanted but we really fought hard.  We pushed Australia down to the last over, so all in all it was a fairly good performance we just have to go back and see what we can improve for the next game,” he added.

In their turn at the crease, all-rounder Kyle-Mayers led the way for the West Indies at the top of the order, scoring 39 from 36 deliveries before his innings was ended by Pat Cummings.  Reifer contributed a 23-ball 19 from the middle order but no other batsman really got going until Odean Smith’s useful 27 from 17 at the back of the innings.  He was run out by Wade.

It was, however, Josh Hazelwood who did the most damage with the ball for the Aussies as he ended with 3 for 35, while Starc and Cummings each claimed two wickets.

The 24-year-old Joseph, who signed with Worcestershire, for the first seven games of the 2021 County Championship season, has had a fairly solid debut spell so far.

In four games, Joseph has scored 128 runs, with a high score of 61, as a lower-order batsman, and taken 10 wickets.  According to the player, things have, however, not been easy as conditions are very different to the Caribbean.

 “I wouldn’t say it’s been the best or that I am extremely satisfied, but it’s improving as I go along. It’s a lot different to the Caribbean, it’s different conditions in terms of different grounds, different types of surfaces, and different types of players, so it’s also about adjusting to everything at once.  It’s helping me to improve as a player in terms of adjusting to situations a bit quicker,” Alzarri told the Antigua Observer.

“Some days you turn up and it’s like three degrees and very cold in the mornings and then it goes from three to 12 degrees, to 15 and then back down to three. So, it’s just really difficult sometimes, but it’s all part of the job.  All part of the learning experience,” he added.

Joseph signed up with the league last month, following the West Indies series against Sri Lanka.

In the end, pace bowler Sheldon Cottrell smashed a six off the penultimate over of the match to give the hosts a one-wicket win.  However, at several points during the match the Irish seemed on the verge of securing a rare win over the Windies, with the hosts struggling at 3 for 24, 4 for 76 and 7 for 148 before heroics from Khary Pierre, Alzarri Joseph and Cottrell lifted the team to 242 for 9.

Before Cottrell’s heroics, the big pacer only narrowly just avoided being run out at the bowler’s end.  Cottrell was a long way short of his ground when but was given a reprieve after the third umpire determined Mark Adair failed broke the stumps with his hand before the ball actually hit the wicket.

The drama in the final over was not yet over with Cottrell finding himself stranded three-fourth of the way down the pitch after Hayden Walsh failed to take a second run but luckily, the return throw went to the wrong end and Cottrell, despite slipping on his way back, managed to return to the striker's end safely.

“I can’t really fault guys now, they’re all distraught now actually.  We have thrown everything into the game and come up short and that will definitely haunt us today,”  Balbirnie said.

“We’ve lost a game of cricket, which is usually disappointing…I backed the bowlers to keep their heads, we have skillful enough bowlers.  Garry Wilson came up with an outstanding bit of fielding that almost won us the game but like I said I can’t fault our bowlers.  We have put in two really good efforts with ball and in the field and hopefully, we can come up better in the third ODI.”

The squads have been confirmed by the Cricket West Indies Selection Panel, with 14 players named per squad and 11 players batting in each innings. Hamilton is humbled and eager to lead one of the squads, especially considering the importance of this contest to all involved.

“There’s going to be some quality. We have the best guys for red-ball cricket in the Caribbean here, so it is going to be a challenge,” he said.

“Also, this game is to select players for the Test team, so it is going to be a great showdown. I am in the captain’s role, so I just want to put my best foot forward and lead the team to victory."

Jermaine Blackwood was equally as elated and is adamant that the fans will be treated with a fine contest.

“The fans can expect great cricket over the next four days because we have some very competitive athletes here,” he said.

“We are ready to go play some exciting cricket starting tomorrow. We are a group of hungry players, who are ready to showcase our talent to the selectors and coaches. I am very honoured to be leading one of the teams. Fans can tune into the West Indies YouTube page to watch the game live.”

The match will be streamed live on the Windies Cricket YouTube channel.

The links for each day’s live coverage are as follows:

Day 1: https://youtu.be/ZlxHDYMt9No

Day 2: https://youtu.be/kvniMRsupus

Day 3: https://youtu.be/ozr2t6KAwNo

Day 4: https://youtu.be/wpw0LPNg-gM

Meanwhile, four players who played in the recent series against Sri Lanka will be unavailable for the “Best v Best” match.

Jason Holder, the ICC’s Number 1 ranked Test all-rounder arrived in St. Lucia on May 28 and after going through the agreed quarantine protocols will begin training on June 1 once he has returned two negative PCR tests.

Test Captain Kraigg Brathwaite and fast bowlers Kemar Roach and Alzarri Joseph are arriving in St Lucia later this coming week following their English County Championship commitments. They will join training after completing the quarantine protocols and once they respectively return two negative PCR tests each.

Blackwood’s team comprises Shai Hope, Darren Bravo, John Campbell, Rahkeem Cornwall, Keon Harding, Shannon Gabriel, Kavem Hodge, Kyle Mayers, Veerasammy Permaul, Joshua Da Silva, Nail Smith, Oshane Thomas and Hayden Walsh Jr.

Hamilton’s team is Nkrumah Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Kerron Cottoy, Chemar Holder, Obed McCoy, Preston McSween, Shayne Moseley, Paul Palmer, Kieron Powell, Raymon Reifer, Jayden Seales and Jomel Warrican.

The match that will be officiated by umpires Joel Wilson, Gregory Brathwaite and Leslie Reifer Jr is set to begin at 9 am Jamaica time. 10 am AST.

Cricket West Indies awarded the title to the Barbados Pride after deciding to cancel the last two rounds of the competition.

However, it was the Jamaican, who came out on top of the individual batting statistics.

The 28-year-old middle-order batsman had a welcome return to the form that saw him force his way into the West Indies team in June 2014. He scored 768 in 15 innings at an average of 51.20. His only hundred was the 248 he scored against the Leeward Islands Hurricanes in early March.

In addition to the double-hundred, Blackwood had six fifties that helped the Jamaica Scorpions finish the season tied with dethroned champions, the Guyana Jaguars.

Kyle Mayers of the champions was the next best run-scorer in the competition with 654 runs that included two centuries and five fifties that pushed his average up to 50.30.

Devon Smith of the Windward Island Volcanoes was prolific as usual at the regional level scoring 649 runs. However, he only averaged 46.35 even though he scored a century and four fifties.

Jamaica’s Nkrumah Bonner had the highest average of the specialist batsman and was fourth in the aggregate with 523 runs. After a shaky start to the season, he finished with two hundreds and two fifties and an average of 58.11.

The top-five was rounded out by Joshua da Silva of the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force who scored 507 runs at an average of 50.70. He scored a century and three fifties.

However, the player with the highest batting average was the Antiguan fast bowler Joseph who had a decent season with the bat scoring 235 runs at an incredible average of 117.50s. He had two 50’s in the five innings he batted for the Hurricanes.

Joseph, who scooped man of the match honours, certainly played his part in the crucial victory, bowling with plenty of pace and hostility to restrict Zimbabwe to 122 in pursuit of the West Indies 153 for 7.

The win, however, while giving the Caribbean team a tournament saving two points, still leaves them just out of the equation on Net Run Rate.  In the ultra-competitive group where all the teams are on 2 points after 2 matches, the equation becomes simple.  Win the next one and advance.

“It’s very encouraging but we know the job’s not done.  We still have one more game to win and we have to try and get that win in order to get out of this round,” he added.

For the second match in a row, Joseph, who worked well in tandem with Holder, was brought in with the team on the back foot and managed to steady the ship so to speak.

“For me, it’s all about pulling it back for the team.  I try and get an early wicket, if not I just keep it tight,” he added.

The West Indies will face Ireland in their final fixture of the tournament on Thursday at 11:00 pm, while Zimbabwe will face Scotland.

Chasing a sizeable first innings score of 436, Nottinghamshire crumbled for 276, despite 111 from opener Haseeb Hameed and not losing their first wicket until they had put 115 runs on the board.

Charlie Morris had the best bowling figures for Worcestershire, after taking 3 for 30 but Joseph chipped in with 2 for 33.  The West Indies accounted for top-order batsman Ben Duckett and Nottinghamshire were then forced to follow on still some 160 runs short of the target.

In the first innings, Joseph was part of a staunch lower-order effort that ballooned the tally late on.  Joseph recorded his first half-century in the competition with 61, Ed Barnard added 58 and captain Joe Leach 84.

The total adds to Joseph’s debut innings of 46 from 55 against Derbyshire last week.  On that occasion, the bowler also chipped in with 3 wickets.

The 24-year-old racked up an impressive 82 from 108 balls, as part of staunch mid-lower order resistance, en route to the Windies posting a satisfactory first innings score of 409.  In the end, Joseph’s aggressive innings was ended when he was caught by Liton Das as he attempted to pull away Abu Jayed.

His total proved a handy one for the team, who will count any runs from the bowler as a huge bonus.  For Joseph, however, a player who prides himself on his batting, it was the second time he was coming close to making his first Test century.

Against New Zealand, in December, Joseph put together a commendable 86, which remains his highest score to date.

“It’s disappointing not to get 100 but I’ve been working hard on my batting, so there will be other opportunities to get that total,” he added.

“When I came to the crease it was just to spend some time and support Josh (Joshua Da Silva) at the crease."

Together Joseph and Da Silva put together an important 7^th wicket partnership.

At the end of the first day, Joseph remained unbeaten on 46 from 81 balls and sharing in an eighth-wicket stand worth 89 runs with Ed Barnard.  The partnership took Worcestershire to 305 for 7, after looking in some trouble at 216 for 7 earlier on.

The total marks Joseph’s second 40+runs innings of the young season, having opened up with 46 from 55 against Derbyshire last week.  On that occasion, the bowler also chipped in with 3 wickets drawing commendation from Worcestershire coach, Alex Gidman, who praised the player's mentality.

When play resumes Joseph could be looking for his first half-century in the competition, having signed a seven-game deal with Worcestershire for the first part of the season a few weeks ago.

The 24-year-old has taken 37 wickets from 15 Tests and shown plenty of ability with the bat of late, scoring half-centuries on successive Test tours of New Zealand and Bangladesh.

Joseph, who has previous IPL experience with the Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans, was the most expensive West Indian as well as the fifth most expensive player, going to the Royal Challengers Bangalore for 11.5 crore (USD 1,386,000 approximately).

West Indies T20I skipper Rovman Powell was the first player up for grabs on Tuesday, going for 7.4 crore (USD 892,000 approximately) to the Rajasthan Royals after a bidding war with the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Sherfane Rutherford was the next West Indian to be picked up, going to the Kolkata Knight Riders for 1.5 crore (USD 181,000 approximately).

ODI skipper Shai Hope earned a maiden IPL contract, going for 75 lakh (USD 90,500) to the Delhi Capitals.

Australian pacer Mitchell Starc is now the most expensive player in IPL history after being sold to the Kolkata Knight Riders for 24.75 crore (USD 2,982,000 approximately).

Starc broke the previous record of 20.50 crore (USD 2,470,000 approximately) set earlier in the evening when the Sunrisers Hyderabad outbid the Royal Challengers Bangalore for Starc’s teammate and World Cup-winning captain Pat Cummins.

New Zealand All-rounder Darryl Mitchell went for 14 crore (USD 1,687,000 approximately) to defending champions Chennai Super Kings while Indian pacer Harshal Patel went to the Punjab Kings for 11.75 crore (USD 1,412,000 approximately) to round out the top five buys.

The hosts won the toss and decided to bat first, a decision that was proven to be the right one as Markram and Dean Elgar put on 141 for the first wicket before Elgar was dismissed for 71 by Joseph in the 36^th over.

That brought debutant Tony de Zorzi to the crease to join Markram and the pair brought the score up to 221-1 in the 57^th over before de Zorzi was run out for 28.

Before that partnership was ended, Markram, making his return to the Test side after being dropped last year. Brought up his fifth Test hundred off 150 balls.

Two balls after de Zorzi’s wicket, Temba Bavuma, in his first innings as South Africa’s Test Captain, was dismissed for a duck.

Four overs later, Markram’s knock finally came to an end when he was bowled by Joseph for a classy 115. His innings came off 174 balls and included 18 fours.

Markram’s wicket started a collapse for South Africa as they lost their next four wickets for 64 runs as Heinrich Klaasen (20), Senuran Muthusamy (3), Keegan Petersen (14) and Kagiso Rabada (8) all fell in quick succession.

South Africa ended the day 314-8 off 82 overs with Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee on 17 and 11, respectively.

Alzarri Joseph has, so far, taken 3-60 off 16 overs for the Windies.

Scores: South Africa 314-8 off 82 overs (Aiden Markram 115, Dean Elgar 71, Alzarri Joseph 3-60)

Lara, speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, for instance, believes talented 23-year-old Shimron Hetmyer has personal issues like his fitness that he needs to deal with before he is quite ready to take the world by storm.

“People have challenges in different ways and Hetmyer, obviously, is a very talented cricketer, someone who plays all forms of the game for the West Indies. If he is unfit, he has to see it as a personal challenge. Fitness levels are so very important. So if fitness is his problem, I would like to see him face that challenge himself, and he’ll be a much better cricketer,” said Lara.

Lara though, has much more immediate hopes for others in the West Indies squad like Shai Hope, Nicholas Pooran and Alzarri Joseph.

According to the former Windies captain, Pooran understands his role in the team, while the West Indies can find Hope’s stability useful, even in the T20 form of the game, while Joseph is a gamechanger with his ability to take wickets.

“I like Nicholas Pooran, he’s settling down and understanding his responsibilities more now. Shai Hope could play a part in the T20 World Cup, being that solid guy with a great technique that can hold the innings together. Those are the three players I’m really looking forward to seeing. Alzarri Joseph is someone who I look at and say ‘this guy has got potential, he’s a wicket-taker’. He is someone who I’d like to see do well,” said Lara.

Lara, as he has said before, believes the team can learn much from the example of Virat Kohli.

Kohli, he said, has worked hard on his fitness and that, Lara explained, is the perfect lead for Hetmyer to follow.

The 41-year-old Anderson, England's most successful bowler, having taken 700 Test wickets in 187 Tests during his illustrious career, recently announced that he will hang up his boots after the first Test against the West Indies.

Roach, who on Monday took 6 for 46 in Surrey's County Championship victory over Warwickshire, believes the West Indies seam attack is poised for success. With teammates Jayden Seales and Jason Holder also in fine form for Sussex and Worcestershire respectively, Roach is optimistic about their chances against England.

"It's a very highly talented and skillful group," Roach told ESPN Cricinfo commented at the Kia Oval. "We've not had the best of times over here in England, so it's more about focusing on us - not what they're going to do for him. He's going to get what he deserves. But it's all about us working hard to get what we deserve, which is a series win over here in England."

Reflecting on Anderson's imminent retirement after the Lord's Test, Roach acknowledged the English bowler's greatness while maintaining a competitive spirit. "He's a great fast bowler, probably one of the greatest," Roach remarked. "First Test match against us… hopefully, we ruin it," he added with a laugh.

Roach expressed confidence in the West Indies' current seam attack, highlighting the emergence of young talents like Shamar Joseph and Jayden Seales alongside seasoned campaigner Alzarri Joseph. "With Shamar and Jayden Seales now - Alzarri as well - they have added a lot of X-factor to the bowling unit," Roach noted. "To have three guys like that in the team, a captain to have that to select, for any given day or any given surface [is great]."

Despite approaching his 36th birthday, Roach's recent performances demonstrate his enduring skill and experience. "I've spent the past two weeks working hard on my balance at the crease," Roach shared. "To have those great days... that's what you want," he added, emphasizing the team's readiness for the challenge ahead.

With the West Indies aiming for their first Test series win in England since 1988, Roach and his teammates are determined to put on a strong showing and create a memorable conclusion to Anderson's illustrious Test career.

His remarks come, as Jamaica Tallawahs are set to begin their title defence against St Lucia Kings in the tournament opener in Gros Islet, St Lucia on Wednesday at 6:00pm Jamaica time.

King, who was instrumental in leading the Jamaican franchise to their third tile –first since 2016 –by defeating Barbados Royals in last year’s final at Guyana’s National Stadium, is confident that they can once again stamp their class on the tournament, starting with tomorrow’s assignment.  

“The Jamaica Tallawahs are excited for the 2023 season to begin,” the inform batsman, who scored a career-best unbeaten half-century last Sunday to help West Indies clinch a series win over India in Florida, declared.

“I firmly believe that our success in the upcoming tournament lies not just in our individual skills, but in our ability to unite as a team, play with passion, and embrace every challenge that comes our way. I’m excited for the new season and can’t wait to get on the field to defend our title,” King added.

Though they will be without last year’s winning captain Rovman Powell, who head to Barbados Royals, King’s Tallawahs outfit will feature most of the talent from the triumphant season, including out-of-favour West Indies all-rounder Fabian Allen, Test vice-captain Jermaine Blackwood and the classy Shamarh Brooks, along with overseas players Imad Wasim, Chris Green, Mohammed Amir and the hard-hitting Alex Hales.

Meanwhile, St Lucia Kings, who are hunting their maiden CPL title, having twice made the final in 2020 and 2021 where they came up short against Trinbago Knight Riders and St Kitts and Nevis Patriots respectively.

With that in mind, Head coach Darren Sammy believes it is only fitting that they begin their charge and, by extension, come out strong on home soil.

Sammy’s side will be led by the West Indies trio of Alzarri Joseph, Roston Chase and Johnson Charles, while South African star Faf du Plessis, again headlines the overseas players.

“The Saint Lucia Kings are delighted to be getting their 2023 campaign under way at our home ground,” said Sammy, who is also West Indies white-ball Head coach.

“We are sure that the Lucian public will come out in big numbers to support us as we push to make the playoffs and then go on and claim our first CPL title.  We have a very strong team full of exciting young talent and experienced local and overseas players and we are well placed heading into the tournament,” he noted.

Following the completion of games in St Lucia, the tournament will then visit St Kitts & Nevis, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana, with the latter again set to host the September 24 final in Providence.

The Knight Riders won the toss and opted to field first and that decision appeared to have backfired when Johnson Charles’ half-century got the Kings off to a lightning start.

Although the Knight Riders pegged the Kings back in the middle overs a devastating 33 off 14 balls from David Wiese ensured the Knight Riders were set a very difficult 148 to win.

 The Knight Riders’ task became even more difficult when they lost three early wickets inside the PowerPlay including that of Nicholas Pooran for a duck. 

 They never really recovered from that and left themselves too much ground to make up in the back end resulting in the narrow defeat.

 The Kings had got off to a flier in the PowerPlay with the tournament’s top scorer Charles hitting another barnstorming fifty. His partnership with Niroshan Dickwella added 59 runs before Ravi Rampaul carried on his good form by removing the latter.

 When Rampaul removed the set Charles it led to a squeeze on the Kings scorecard as 82-3 quickly became 117-5.

 However, David Wiese was able to produce an excellent counter-attacking innings at the death to help the Kings post a challenging 147.

 The Knight Riders' response saw their top order fail again as Leonardo Julien, Colin Munro and Nicholas Pooran all fell inside the powerplay to Roston Chase.

 That left the middle and lower order too much to do and despite a late salvo by Andre Russell in the final over of the game, it was too little too late.

 The two sides swap places in the table following the results and both will now head to Guyana with all to play for in the race for the playoffs. 

Scores: Saint Lucia Kings 147-6 (Charles 54, Wiese 33; Rampaul 2-10, Narine 2-31) beat Trinbago Knight Riders 146-6 (Seifert 44, Pollard 34; Chase 3-17, Joseph 2-26) by 1 run.

Brathwaite was selected after a prolific season which saw him make 687 runs at an average of 62.4. In seven matches in 2022, Brathwaite scored two hundreds and five fifties including a top-score of 160 against England in Barbados in March.

Joseph was named to the ODI team after taking 27 wickets in 17 matches, the most among fast bowlers, at an average of 25.7 in 2022.

ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year: Kraigg Brathwaite (West Indies), Usman Khawaja (Australia), Marnus Labuschangne (Australia), Joe Root (England), Jonny Bairstow (England), Ben Stokes (Captain, England), Rishabh Pant (Wicket-keeper, India), Pat Cummins (Australia), Kagiso Rabada (South Africa), Nathan Lyon (Australia), James Anderson (England).

ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Year: Travis Head (Australia), Shubman Gill (India), Babar Azam (Captain, Pakistan), Shreyas Iyer (India), Tom Latham (Wicket-keeper, New Zealand), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Mehidy Hasan Miraz (Bangladesh), Alzarri Joseph (West Indies), Mohammed Siraj (India), Adam Zampa (Australia), Trent Boult (New Zealand).

In a marathon innings lasting 257 balls, the 23-year-old da Silva scored 100 not out as the West Indies chasing England’s first innings score of 204, made 297 all out in the third and final Apex test in Grenada.

He was the sheet anchor in key partnerships of 33 with Kyle Mayers, 49 with Alzarri Joseph, 68 with Kemar Roach and 52 with Jayden Seales to help the West Indies recover from a precarious 95-6 into a position of ascendancy.

For Lara, it was a joy to watch.

“The discipline and mental strength this young man showed was admirable. The partnerships with the lower order to get us into this winning position is what Test cricket is all about,” said Lara, who is currently in India as the batting coach for IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The man who scored a mammoth 11953 runs from 131 Tests for the West Indies also lavished praise for da Silva’s teammates as well.

“It will be remiss of me not to congratulate all the batters and bowlers that fought throughout the series culminating into this on the brink of a series win against England. I salute the captain for his tenacity throughout the series with the bat and his leadership,” said the proud West Indies icon.

“To all players and staff, I commend you and at the same time urge you to continue working on having the appetite to go out there on the battlefield for all five days of a Test match giving your all each and every single time you don the burgundy cap. At the end, you will lose some, draw some and win a lot more but more importantly, you will understand what Test cricket is all about.”

At the time of publication, the West Indies were chasing 28 runs for victory after bowling England out for 120 on Sunday.

Kyle Mayers took a career-best  5-18, Kemar Roach 2-10 while there was a wicket each for Jayden Seales and Alzarri Joseph.