The 24-year-old Joseph has spent a little over a month representing Worcestershire, where he made his debut following the West Indies home series against Sri Lanka. As per the arrangement, the player is now back in the Caribbean for the team’s upcoming series against South Africa.
In his six matches there, Joseph did make some impression, claiming 15 wickets, the second most in the team and adding 148 runs, with a high score of 61. In addition, he claimed an innings best of 2 for 22 and match best of 4 for 106.
The English championships is typically lauded as a good place for young cricketers to develop, not only due to the difficult and different conditions, but also the volume of cricket played in a short period of time. During the West Indies spell as the top cricketing nation, several of the players took part in the competition.
“He spent some time in England which everyone feels like that is the bedrock for development because of the amount of cricket that you play, but gone are the days when you use to play seven days or sometimes, 12 to 14 days in a row, and if you can’t develop from that system then you can’t develop,” Roberts, who represented Hampshire and Leicestershire, told the Antigua Observer.
“I am just hoping that he spent most of his time in the nets learning to hone his craft because there is no point to playing County cricket and you don’t learn nothing from playing County cricket. For years I’ve been saying the same thing over and over like the record is stuck; personal development is the key to success.”
So far, bowlers have rarely managed to gain the ascendancy with the two previous pitches in Antigua and Barbados offering very little in the way of assistance. In the previous Test, a total of 1,238 runs were scored, including a deflating 507 for 9 declared scored by England in the first innings.
If the West Indies are to break the deadlock on the back of two prior draws, Roberts believes the region’s pace bowlers must give more effort at the crease to unsettle the English batsmen.
“Aggressive doesn’t mean you have to be up in somebody’s face, but you can be aggressive in your approach, you can be aggressive in your steering because that’s one of the things I did. I never swore but when I looked at you and I see you turn away, then I say ‘yes, I have you because you can’t look me in the eye’, and that is what is required,” Roberts told the Good Morning Jojo Radio program.
“I see many West Indian fast bowlers going back to the days of Mervyn Dillion, Reon King, and when they get hit for boundaries they smile, they don’t get upset,” he added.
“The ball doesn’t come off the pitch faster than you release it, so if you’re a fast bowler then it means you’re a fast bowler, you can’t be a fast bowler and a fast-medium bowler. What is being taught today is line and length and bowl fourth and fifth stump outside the off stump, but instead of attacking the batsman, attacking the stumps, they are bowling outside of off stump, which is what they practice so sometimes it seems as though the coaches are at fault sometimes. In order to get the best out of the fast bowlers, you have to encourage them to bowl fast.”
Despite being better known for his exploits in the red-ball format, Holder’s exclusion from the first-team squad and selection as a reserve for the tournament caused shock and dismay across the Caribbean, following the announcement of the final squad next week.
In international T20 cricket to date, Holder has managed 27 matches with an average of 16.75 in 18 innings, added to that he has claimed 22 wickets. In the Indian Premier League last season, however, he put on several strong performances during his time with Sunrisers Hyderabad and also had a strong showing against Sri Lanka in the series of practice games. He did, however, struggled against Pakistan and has also failed to make a telling impact in the CPL. For Roberts, however, the player's proven quality should have been enough to see him added to the starting team.
“I was shocked because he is the best cricketer we have in the region, bar none,” Roberts told the Mason and Guest radio show.
“I’d pick him as one of the first choices for the World Cup, what is he doing in the reserves. It embarrassing for us to see how we could treat our best cricketer. Jason Holder is our best cricketer," he added.
Holder has been consistently ranked as the top, or second-best Test cricket all-rounder for the last couple of years but has not displayed that kind of dominance over the shorter formats.
Holder, who was speaking on the Mason&Guest in Barbados on Tuesday, also suggested that because of the constant caustic criticisms, the current players are reluctant to reach out to them for guidance.
Chief among the critics is former fast-bowler Andy Roberts, who just last month, was critical of the West Indies captain, especially after the recent tour of New Zealand where the West Indies lost by an innings in each of the two Test matches.
“I think Jason Holder as a captain on the field is lost,” Roberts said. “I don’t think he’s aware what is going on the field because if I win a toss as a captain and before lunch on a green top pitch I am having a man on the point boundary then I am lost.
“That’s the first thing. His field placing [leaves] a lot to be desired and I believe the time should come where he takes instructions from the coaches who can see the game better than he can.”
Holder responded to those comments and others that have been levelled at him over the past few years since he was appointed captain.
“My disappointment with people like Andy Roberts, I respect them to what they contribute to the game but as former players who done so well, I am sure they have positive contributions to make to West Indies cricket but why go on these platforms and constantly criticize and degrade the product of West Indies cricket?” Holder lamented to host Andrew Mason.
“I feel the former legends comments on West Indies cricket, 99 per cent of the time is negative and when it is an opportunity for them to give encouragement or congratulate players is like they are trying to pick their teeth to find the words, it’s like a hard thing to do.
“As a society in the Caribbean we find it so easy to criticize and we always know the problem but when asked the solution, it’s mind-boggling, people always struggle to find the solutions.”
Holder laid some of the blame for the challenges faced by current players squarely at the feet of the former players citing the fact that because of the constant negative feedback players are reluctant to seek guidance from the former players.
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion and the legends, who I respect them for their contribution, I think they can do a lot more into opening up that relationship with players,” he said. “Lots of players frown upon speaking to the legends because they are not approachable.
“We know we are not the greatest side but it would warm my heart to have a conversation with Andy Roberts but it’s often him being critical to the current crop. Pick up the phone and offer that support. I think they need to do a lot better to build the relationship with current players and I think they have a lot to offer to West Indies cricket."
12 players, including captains Jason Holder, Kieron Pollard, and Roston Chase all opted to make themselves unavailable for the series, citing health and safety concerns. Joining the trio on the sidelines are Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Sheldon Cottrell, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Fabian Allen and Shane Dowrich.
The West Indies was one of the first teams to resume international cricket when they visited England, under quarantine protocols, in July. On that occasion, Bravo, Hetmeyer and Keemo Paul opted not to go on tour. The team then travelled to New Zealand earlier this month. On that occasion, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, and Lewis opted out of the tour.
With so many players deciding not to accept the invitation on this occasion, however, Roberts has questioned the difference between England and New Zealand vs Bangladesh.
“How do all of these guys who couldn’t make a team two or three years ago now become so big that they are refusing to tour and blaming it on the bubble,” Roberts said.
“Was it a problem when the majority of these players went to England? Was it a problem when the majority of these players went to New Zealand? How now is it a problem when they are going to Bangladesh?”
Bangladesh has a very high rate of COVID transmission with 510,080 confirmed coronavirus cases and 7,479 deaths. However, England also had a high death and infection rate at the time of the tour. Under the CWI Covid-19 rules, however, the players have the option to accept or decline tour invitations during the pandemic without it influencing thoughts of future selection.
On the back of a historic shock loss to Ireland in their most recent international One Day International (ODI) series, the team’s performances have come under the microscope even more than usual, particularly as it relates to the patchy performance of the batting line-up.
Against Ireland, the batsmen seemed technically incapable of dealing with either the moist conditions on the pitch or the craft of the Irish bowlers. The team’s struggles have led some to question the work of head coach Phil Simmons and the team’s batting coaches, but while admitting that more needed to be done by the coach, Roberts insists the team’s troubles run a lot deeper.
“For what it is now, I don’t think I would blame the coach alone because of the (low) quality of our players coming out of the region,” Roberts told the Mason and Guest radio show.
“We have to put some emphasis on the coaches from our lower levels coming up because that is where you learn the skills of batting because most focus today is on batting. I read where the captain said that the West Indies has a batting problem but we’ve been having a batting problem for years… we want to blame others at the top when this is a problem that comes from the lower level.”
Hetmyer, 23, seen as one of the rising stars in West Indies cricket, was among three players who opted out of the tour #RaisetheBat series, largely due to safety concerns. His Guyanese compatriot Keemo Paul and Trinidadian middle-order batsman Darren Bravo, also decided to stay home despite assurances given by both CWI and the ECB that they would be kept safe in a bio-secure environment.
Roberts, who was a member of a fearsome, four-pronged West Indies pace attack from the 1970s into the 1980s, believes the decision not to go was foolhardy.
“They would have played an integral part of the batting,” he said during a recent conversation with Michael Holding on Holding’s YouTube channel. He suggested that the tour to England was an opportunity to improve his batting.
“As much as we don’t like the way Hetmyer has been playing, he is one of the batsmen of the future. But somebody has to get into his head and let him realize that you cannot score runs sitting in the pavilion.”
The appointment of Daren Sammy as head coach will not result in any immediate success for the regional side according to legendary West Indies fast bowler, Sir Andy Roberts.
Sammy’s elevation to the top job in Tests, adding to his current positions as ODI and T20I head coach, was announced by CWI Director of Cricket Miles Bascombe during CWI’s quarterly press conference held last Monday in St. Vincent.
For decades, the region was the producer of fearsome fast bowling talent, which often left opposition batsmen with plenty to think about. The likes of Roberts, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall, Wes Hall, and Michael Holding are only a few of the names who could leave opponents with plenty to dread once they strode to the crease.
Many will point to the pace-bowling lineage being broken with the end of twin towers Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, with no bowler since managing to come close to consistency matching that once fearsome legacy.
“I don’t think that these guys are prepared for the hard work that fast bowling entails,” Roberts told the Mason and Guest program.
“If you look at it, most players now prefer to play T20s, it's only four overs. I must say that fast bowling is hard work, I would say donkey work, but I just believe they are not prepared,” he added.
In recent times, some have blamed poor preparation of the region’s pitches for suffocation of the Caribbean’s fast bowling talent, Roberts, however, does not agree.
“A lot of people blame the pitches, but I always ask, Pakistan is supposed to have some of the slowest pitches in the world, yet still they produce some of the fastest bowlers in the world. How do they do it and we can’t,” Roberts said.
“People believe that during the 60s, 70s, and 80s we used to have really fast pitches, that is far from the truth. We used to have Kensington Oval, the ball used to swing around and move off the seam on the first day, but after that, it became one of the best batting pitches in the region. It has nothing to do with pitches, it has a lot to do with the work ethics of the young cricketers, they don’t want to work hard.”
Following the promising start but a disastrous end to the tour of England, a lot of discussions surrounding how to improve the team’s performance focused on increased technological infrastructure around the region.
The typically fiery former pace bowler was, however, quick to point out that such investment is unlikely to make a difference if the attitude and work ethics of the batsmen do not improve.
“Infrastructure will not make you a better player. You have to make yourself a better player and I don’t think the commitment is there from a lot of West Indies players,” Roberts told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“It’s not just the Test players but a lot of people who play cricket in the West Indies, I don’t think they commit themselves enough. If you did, you would not be averaging 30 in first-class cricket and that is what we are getting.”
In the recently concluded series, it was Jermaine Blackwood that averaged the most for the team with 35.17 but he was the only one to get to 30. Overall, for the series, the team averaged closer to 20. In fact, the team’s highest batting average in a Test series consisting of at least two matches since 2017 is 34.66 and that was against Zimbabwe in 2017.
“You can’t beat any quality team with that type of average. So, our guys first have to stand up in front of the mirror and think what am I doing to improve myself, because, until our players improve their batting we are not going to score runs against a strong team.”
The 23-year-old pace bowler has been added as a reserve for the tour but is not a part of the 14-man squad for the series. In fact, he is yet to make his test cricket debut but has played 20 ODIs and 12 T20Is since his debut in late 2018 and picked up five-wicket hauls in both limited-overs formats.
Roberts believes the tour would provide the perfect opportunity to look at the player for the longest format of the game, because of one attribute, his raw pace.
“He should be in that 14-man squad from the onset. He has what others want, he has pace. Everybody wants pace,” Roberts told the Mason and Guest Radio program.
“He may not be a wicket-taker but he may create some problems for the opposition and that is what you want. Sometimes it’s not the guy who gets the wickets, it’s the guy who creates the problem that gets the other guys the wickets.”
Thomas had an impressive outing for the West Indies before the global game was halted due to the spread of the coronavirus. He took 5 for 28 and 1 for 24 as West Indies swept Sri Lanka 2-0 in a T20I series in the first week of March.
The West Indies and England will return to international cricket next month, with a three-Test match series behind closed doors. With the spread of the coronavirus continuing to be a serious concern in the UK, for safety reasons, the players and everyone associated with the series will be kept in what has been described as a biosecure bubble for seven weeks.
With the United Kingdom (UK) being one of the hardest-hit countries by the virus and some 41,128 deaths already reported, there will doubtlessly be some element of risk in travelling for the tour. As such, West Indies players were given the option of not accepting the invitation, with Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer and Keemo Paul all deciding to opt-out due to safety concerns. As is customary, it is the host team that will be entitled to the revenue from the series, with the decision by the West Indies expected to save the England and Wales Cricket Board £120million in reimbursements to Sky Sports.
Due to the exceptional nature of the circumstances, Roberts believes the Caribbean team should have secured better compensation.
“I don’t have a problem with them negotiating to go to England, but what I have a problem with is talk that the West Indies will not benefit from the tour financially,” Roberts told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“I think that is a mistake because the chances that we are going to take, I don’t think you have many more countries that would be willing to take such a chance,” he added.
“If they are to benefit financially then I don’t have a problem, but if they are not going to benefit from it, then I have a problem, why take the risk and sacrifice the guys?”
In his heyday, Roberts was part of a generation of fierce West Indian pace bowlers, a line-up which also included the likes of Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Colin Croft, and Malcolm Marshall, who were all known for terrorizing opposition batsmen with brutally quick deliveries.
While admitting that the up-and-coming pace bowlers can at times reach top speeds, Roberts does not believe the performances have been sustained for long enough periods of time.
“What West Indies has been lacking for a while is a genuine fast bowler. We have fast bowlers, but we don’t have anyone of genuine pace who at night the batsmen can’t see because you are thinking of tomorrow. We haven’t had that for a long time,” Roberts told the Mason and Guest radio program.
The former quick believes a part of the issue has to do with the workload required to sustain top speeds throughout a game.
“Fast bowling is hard work, and a lot of people don’t like to work hard. They believe that the ball comes quicker off the pitch than when you release it. They are not prepared to put in the hard work, the donkey work," he added.
“I find that our fast bowlers can’t bowl fast for more than 2 or 3 overs. It’s because they’re not strong enough, their legs are not strong enough.”
Windies paceman Shannon Gabriel is currently the fastest of the current crop, but Roberts believes, even for him, there is a significant drop-off in pace the longer the bowler plays in a match.
“It’s your legs that carry you through as a fast bowler not just your chest…when Shannon Gabriel was bowling in the 90s, he bowled a number of balls 92, 95 but that was between 10 and 11 o clock between 2 and 3 o clock it's down to high 80s. Why, because his legs aren’t strong enough.”
In order to officially book a spot in Australia next month, the two-time champions must advance from a play-off group that will also feature Ireland, Scotland, and Zimbabwe. The team will start as heavy favourites to advance from the group but the squad will feature several players that have not been in the squad for the last few months and even some who have never played the format internationally.
Since a disastrous campaign at the 2021 World Cup, the Windies have played 22 matches, but a few of the players added to the squad have not played in the majority of them over the past year. For instance, Evin Lewis has not played since the last tournament, Johnson Charles has not played for the team since 2016, Sheldon Cottrell has played sparingly since the start of the year, and Yannic Cariah and Raymond Reifer are yet to play in the format.
Having played so many matches Roberts believes the team should have been already been using a settled squad ahead of the tournament.
“We don’t have a settled team and that is the biggest problem. You don’t know what your teammate is capable of doing because he has just come into the team,” Roberts told the Mason and Guest Radio program.
“When West Indies was at its best, we had a settled team for five, ten years. If you check out Australia, Australia has a settled team, and Pakistan has a settled team. India is fiddling around with the team and just look at the issues they have been having. You need settled teams,” he added.
“We are going with a number of new players, new to the international scene. We knew for a long time that the World Cup was going to be this year, so we should have been trying our best to make sure we have a unit that is ready to go from ball one.”
