West Indies head coach Darren Sammy did not mince his words while reacting to fast bowler Alzarri Joseph angrily leaving the field during the third West Indies-England ODI in Bridgetown.
Joseph, who opened the bowling for West Indies along with Matthew Forde in the third ODI, stormed off the field after the fourth over of the innings, seemingly unhappy with the field he was given to bowl to by his captain, Shai Hope. This was despite him getting the wicket of Jordan Cox during the over, forcing him to fend off a brutal bouncer through to Hope, and the over costing no runs.
Sammy was seen outside the boundary rope trying to calm the situation in the middle with words and gestures, but Joseph quickly stormed up the stairs and headed into the dressing room as soon the over was complete. He returned only towards the end of the next over, leaving the hosts to field with 10 players.
Joseph eventually finished his quota in the game, taking 2-45 from his ten overs as West Indies restricted England to 263-8, before chasing it down with ease thanks to a 209-run second-wicket partnership between Brandon King (102) and Keacy Carty (128*).
After the match, Sammy condemned the actions of his star quick, saying that behaviour of that kind doesn't fit into the environment he is trying to create in the West Indies dressing room.
"Behaviour like that is unacceptable on my cricket field," Sammy told TalkSPORT, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo. "We will be friends, but in the culture I'm trying to build, that's unacceptable. We will definitely have a chat about that."
John Turner exists, Jordan Cox struggles: Six things England learned from West Indies ODI series defeat ⬇️#WIvENG https://t.co/FAsVudQgEX
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) November 7, 2024
Not the first such instance between a WI captain and bowler
In 2010, a similar clash between a West Indies captain and his bowler occurred during the fourth ODI against South Africa in Dominica. Chris Gayle, then leading West Indies, had ordered Sulieman Benn off the field after the left-arm spinner refused to bowl over-the-wicket.
"I actually asked him to leave the field,' Gayle had told reporters after that game. "As a captain, it was a situation like you ask a particular bowler to do it and he said he had never done certain things before. That's why you have practice sessions, to practise. I asked him to simply bowl over the wicket. I don't see why it should be a problem.
"He wasn't up for it and if you're not up for it, why give that particular bowler the ball. I just see it that he [Benn] doesn't want to take part. It was my call to actually ask him to leave and tell him that he is not needed anymore."
With the victory in Bridgetown, West Indies sealed the ODI series 2-1 and will now shift their focus towards the blockbuster five-match T20I series coming up against the same opponents.
