Alzarri Joseph is a West Indian fast bowler. He's one of the frontline bowlers for the country. The West Indies recently completed an ODI series against England. He has made the headlines but not for any good reason. He stormed off the field and has been reprimanded for it.
The incident took place in the third ODI. The series was tied at one apiece. England batted first and notched up 263-8. Joseph took figures of 2-45 after his alloted 10 overs. The hosts would chase down the total with ease as they won by 8 wickets and with 42 balls remaining.
The trouble began when, after the fourth over and the dismissal of Jordan Cox, Joseph was upset with the field placement made by the captain, Shai Hope. In retaliation, he went straight to his bowling starting point; instead of celebrating the wicket with the team.
Following the conclusion of his over, he stormed off the field without any notice. He returned in the sixth over but stormed off again after two misfields off his bowling. This didn't make a good impression for the management.
Following the match, West Indies coach, Daren Sammy, said, "Behaviour like that is unacceptable on my cricket field. We will be friends…but in the culture I’m trying to build, that’s unacceptable. We will definitely have a chat about that." In a post-match interview, Sammy said, "I pride myself on having the difficult conversations, but in a way that everybody understands what is needed to be done. To see guys going out there and slowly progressing in the right direction makes me proud. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but it’s one that I’m quite passionate about."
As a result of this behaviour, Joseph has been suspended for two games. Cricket West Indies cited Joseph's behaviour as, "conduct falling short of CWI’s standards of professionalism."
Alzarri Joseph has since seen the error of his ways and has apologised. He owed his behaviour to, "my passion got the best of me." In the same statement, he said, "I have personally apologised to captain Shai Hope and my teammates and management. I also extend my sincerest apologies to the West Indies fans. I understand that even a brief lapse in judgment can have a far-reaching impact, and I deeply regret any disappointment caused."
West Indies will now put their attention on the 5 match T20 series against England. It will take place between 10 - 17 November.
Joseph's behaviour can be best described as childish. Just because the field wasn't placed to his liking, it doesn't mean you can just storm off. You have to take it like a man and move on. Acting like a brat among men and athletes is pathetic. Cricket is a team sport and there's no, "I" in team. Anything could happen if a team is down a player. Fortunately, nothing damaging happened. To me, the ends justified the means.