By Nelson A. king from Caribbean Life

West Indies cricket captain Jason Holder on Saturday dedicated the Caribbean sides’ humiliation of England in the second Test at the Sir Vivian Richards stadium in Antigua to fast bowler Alzarri Joseph and his family.

Joseph, 22, an Antiguan native, lost his mother, Sharon, the night before the third day of the Test match. She was ailing for some time with a brain tumor.

With both sides wearing black arms bands in solidarity with Joseph and his family, the young fast bowler continued playing in aiding West Indies to a 10-wicket trouncing over England and taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match Test series.

“It’s difficult to describe the feelings,” Holder told the post-match ceremony. “We started the day with a daunting task, trying to push on our lead, and then we got the news about Alzarri’s mom, so we all wanted to rally around one another, and we wanted to do it for her.

“Alzarri was exceptiona­l.,” the West Indies captain added. “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,” continued Holder. “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,” he said. “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.”

Holder said it was even more difficult to see Joseph crying Saturday morning before play started.

“And we came together in the huddle, and we just wanted to do it for him, and we dedicate this day to him, his mom and his family,” he said, stating that it was up to Joseph to continue playing the match.

“I didn’t want to deprive him of the opportunity to take the field,” he added. “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 mom,” Holder continued. “And credit to him, he held his hand up high and did an exceptional job for us.”

Joseph took two wickets in England’s second innings to Holder’s four.

Scores: West Indies 306 (Bravo 50, Brathwaite 49, Broad 3-53) and 17-0 (Campbell 11*, Brathwaite 5*); England 187 and 132 (Buttler 24, Holder 4-43, Roach 4-52).

For more on this story go to: https://www.caribbeanlifenews.com/stories/2019/2/2019-02-08-nk-test-victory-to-joseph-cl.html