Joseph issued a public apology in the aftermath of the incident, acknowledging that “my passion got the best of me”, adding that he had “personally apologised to Captain Shai Hope, my team-mates 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.”
During the fourth over of the innings in Bridgetown, Joseph was unhappy with a field placement and could be seen remonstrating with Hope. Off the fourth ball, Joseph removed Jordan Cox caught behind, but did not celebrate with his team, instead immediately returning to his mark. At the end of the over, Joseph left the field unannounced and went into the dressing room, forcing West Indies to begin the fifth over with only ten fielders on the pitch.
Joseph returned to the pitch for the beginning of the sixth over, but did not resume bowling until the 12th. He bowled two more overs, before leaving the field again after two misfields off his bowling saw England gain two runs through overthrows. He returned later to bowl two more in the middle overs and his remaining three in the death.
Joseph finished the match with figures of 2 for 45 from his 10 overs after dismissing Cox and Dan Mousley.
“Alzarri’s behavior did not align with the core values that Cricket West Indies upholds,” Miles Bascombe, CWI Director of Cricket, said. “Such conduct cannot be overlooked, and we have taken decisive action to ensure the gravity of the situation is fully acknowledged.”
Sammy, who was appointed as West Indies head coach in May 2023, is widely credited for his man-management abilities, and has convinced several players, such as Andre Russell and Evin Lewis, to return to the international game.
“I pride myself on having the difficult conversations,” Sammy said. “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.”
West Indies won the ODI series 2-1 and the five-match T20 series begins on Saturday, with Sammy hinting that some of the star names who were absent from their recent series against Sri Lanka, such as Nicholas Pooran and Akeal Hosein, are set to return.
“We’ve got a couple of senior players who were not in Sri Lanka that we expect to be back,” Sammy said. “Our T20 team is our most successful team and our most settled team. So, yes, we incorporate some new guys to give them that exposure, but our T20 team normally picks itself.”
This story was updated at 12am GMT following Joseph’s suspension
Cameron Ponsonby is a freelance cricket writer in London. @cameronponsonby
