Windies’ Joseph shines in dark hour

JASON Holder dedicated the West Indies’ emphatic 10wicket Test victory over England to bereaved bowler Alzarri Joseph, who took the field despite the death of his mother hours before the day’s play began.

Joseph, 22, was still coming to terms with his devastating loss as he warmed up with tears in his eyes on the third morning at his home ground in Antigua.

The Windies offered him the chance to remain with family but the paceman decided to take the field, first batting and then claiming the second innings wickets of Joe Root and Joe Denly in a performance of considerable courage.

In the fullness of time this brilliant win, which established an unassailable 2-0 series advantage, may come to be seen as a crucial moment in the resurgence of the West Indies Test team but Holder’s thoughts were with his young colleague.

“It took a lot of heart for him to be on the field today, he’s exceptional ...” the Windies captain said.

“I know he wanted to do something special for his mum, and credit to him for that.

“He held his hand up high and did an exceptional job in helping us clinch the game.”

England joined their opponents in wearing black armbands as a mark of respect and captain Joe Root added his support.

The visitors had vowed to follow-up their 381-run thrashing in Barbados with a truer reflection of their talents but were swept aside with totals of just 187 and 132.

Kemar Roach and Holder took four wickets each as England were bowled out on day three to leave the hosts needing just 14 runs to claim a first series win over England in 10 years.

“Scoring under 200 in both innings isn’t going to win you many games of cricket, so we’ve got to go away, learn from it and come back stronger for it,” Root said.