Alzarri Joseph Opted to Stay Till the End of WI vs ENG 2nd Test Match Despite Death of His Mother, Captain Jason Holder Dedicates Victory to Young Pacer & Family

Ahead of the start of day three of the second Test between England and Windies, 22-year-old pacer Alzarri Joseph received the disheartening news of his mother’s death. Despite the sad demise of his mother, the young pacer, who has played just eight Test matches, opted to stay with the team. Windies eventually finished the Test on day three with a ten-wicket win. England vs West Indies 2nd Test Full Scorecard.

Joseph after receiving the unfortunate news, took full part in the team’s warm-ups in the morning. When Joseph came out to bat at ten in Windies’ first innings he received an ovation in sympathy from the crowd. He scored seven runs off 20 balls before being dismissed by Ben Stokes.

The pacer then picked two wickets in seven overs as England battled to cut down Windies’ lead of 119 runs. Joseph removed England skipper Joe Root and opener Joe Denly to put his side in further control. He almost picked his third wicket but Stokes was dropped at slip.

England were bundled out for 132 in their second innings and set Windies a target of just 14 runs, which the home side achieved in 2.1 overs with ten wickets in hand. Windies skipper Jason Holder then dedicated the win to Joseph and his family. England tour of West Indies, 2019 – Schedule.

"It's difficult to describe the feelings. We started the day with a daunting task, trying to push on our lead, and then we got the news about Alzarri's mum so we all wanted to rally around one another and we wanted to do it for her. Alzarri was exceptional. It took a lot of heart for him to be on the field today, I think a lot of people wouldn't have been able to, but credit to him. The way he ran in this afternoon was exceptional and with a bit more luck he could have got three or four more wickets and could have put in a man-of-the-match performance,” Holder was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

"I just want to say condolences to him and his family, it is a tough loss. I came here two or three years ago and visited his mum, she wasn't doing well at that stage but fought through, so I felt it personally this morning when I got the news that she had passed away. To see him in tears this morning was even harder, and we came together in the huddle and we just wanted to do it for him and we dedicate this day to him, his mum and his family,” he added.

"It was up to him if he played. I didn't want to deprive him of the opportunity to take the field. If he felt he could manage and take the field for the West Indies and perform then I wasn't going to deprive him of that. For sure I knew he wanted to do something special for his mum and credit to him, he held his hand up high and did an exceptional job for us,” Holder said.

With this win, Windies take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match Test series. The third and final Test will take place at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia at from February 09 onwards.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 03, 2019 10:18 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).