Worcestershire sign Alzarri Joseph for start of County Championship

Worcestershire [UK], March 22 (ANI): Worcestershire have signed West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph as its overseas player for the opening phase of the 2021 season.
Joseph will fly in from Antigua on April 4 and is available for seven successive County Championship fixtures, the club said on Monday.
The 24-year-old has played 14 Tests and scalped 34 wickets while in 34 ODIs he picked 54 dismissals. He has also developed into a useful performer with the bat and, in two of his last three Test appearances, scored 86 against New Zealand in Hamilton and 82 against Bangladesh in Dhaka.
Joseph grabbed headlines worldwide after his debut for Mumbai Indians against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League in 2019. His astonishing figures of 6-12 are the best by a bowler in the competition’s history.
Joseph is excited to work with bowling coach Alan Richardson at the club.
“I am thrilled to be joining Worcestershire for the early part of the summer. When I heard the Club was interested in me, I had no hesitation in saying yes. The Club has a strong squad with a nice balance of youth and experience, and I’m really looking forward to working with bowling coach Alan Richardson,” he said in a statement.
“I would also like to thank Cricket West Indies for allowing me the opportunity to go and experience county cricket,” he added.
Worcestershire Cricket Steering Group Chairman, Paul Pridgeon, said: “He is a quality performer, and we are delighted to have signed him for the best part of two months. With it looking like Josh Tongue and Pat Brown may not be match fit for the start of the season, Alex Gidman (Head Coach) and Joe Leach (Club Captain) both felt they needed another seamer.
“Alzarri is going to be available for seven matches and is an exciting prospect. He opened the bowling in the Tests against England last year and more recently played in the ODI side against Sri Lanka,” he added. (ANI)