West Indies bowler Alzarri Joseph stormed off the field following a bizarre altercation with his captain during the third ODI against England in Bridgetown on Thursday morning AEDT.
England was 1-10 in the fourth over when Joseph and West Indies captain Shai Hope were embroiled in a lengthy discussion, seemingly about the field placement. After the 27-year-old’s first delivery was fended to point, he continued waving his arms at his skipper, indicating towards the slips cordon in frustration.
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Later in the over, Joseph dismissed England’s Jordan Cox with a 148km/h bouncer that flicked the batter’s glove before sailing through to the wicketkeeper – but the wicket failed to improve his mood, with coach Darren Sammy trying to calm down the pace bowler from the boundary rope.
Upon the over’s completion, Joseph matched off the field and into the sheds, leaving the West Indies with only ten fielders for the following over. Substitute Hayden Walsh Jnr began preparing to join the action before Joseph reappeared, briefly sitting in the dugout until the end of the over.
Joseph was taken out of the attack when he jogged back out, but the change paid dividends for the West Indies, with fellow quick Romario Shepherd snaring the wicket of Jacob Bethell with his first delivery.
“Many is the time, as a captain or as a player, that you have a disagreement about something on the field,” former England batter Mark Butcher said in commentary.
“But you work that out either behind closed doors, or you get on with your job. Your captain asks you to bowl to a field, you bowl to it.”
England was in deep trouble at 4-24 in the tenth over before opener Phil Salt and all-rounder Sam Curran steadied the ship with a fifty-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
