Performance aside , attitude of Alzarri Joseph impresses Ambrose and Benjamin

Alzarri Joseph's performance haven't caught legendary Windies'  pacers Curtly Ambrose and Winston Benjamin's eye. It's his attitude that have impressed them.

Hyderabad : Alzarri Joseph is the find of the ongoing IPL . And it's not his performance that have caught legendary Windies' pacers Curtly Ambrose and Winston Benjamin's eye. It's his attitude that have impressed them. Joseph smiles on a very rare occasion like that of Ambrose and Benjamin.

The highest wicket taker of the U-19 world cup 2016 , Alzarri Joseph's mentor, Winston Benjamin, giggles when the incident is recalled, and jokingly objects: “It’s not like there’s an unwritten code that Antiguan pacers shouldn’t smile on the ground. I keep laughing all the time.”

However, he was quick to say, “It’s just a coincidence, I think. Alzarri has been like that since I first met him, when his grandmother used to take him to the ground. It has worked for Curtly and hopefully it keeps working for Alzarri as well.”

Alzarri’s “cricket buff” grandmother, Eileen, was a scorer at the Antigua Recreation Ground for nearly 30 years, and used to drag her grandson to even grade matches. She still recollects and likes to share those old memories. Memories like Andy Roberts ripping through a hapless England to Brian Lara’s 375 and 400, still haunts him. She has preserved those scoresheets carefully in a file. “Whenever he (Alzarri) asked me for bedtime stories, I used to tell him about stories of our great team, of Sir Viv, Roberts and Curtly,” she said .

His father Alva, a former club cricketer and hard-hitting batsman, wanted to name his son Vivian but for his wife’s objection. Apart from being a paceman , he can be a pinch hitter as well.

Not just his discipline but it’s the impeccable lengths that impressed Benjamin more. Alzarri struck to his strength, which is to bowl back-of-a-length.

It's not only the length but also his mastery over it, leaving Kevin Pietersen glint-eyed. “With this length, he would have been handful in Tests too. It was like watching a top Test-match spell. Pace, bounce and that nagging length, I think we are seeing someone special,” Kevin said.

Curtly Ambrose

Benjamin felt this pacemen as someone special, “It’s a misconception that West Indies bowlers just come and bowl fast. A lot of hard work goes into the making of a genuine fast bowler,” he says.When Benjamin first saw Alzarri, he had a longer run-up, leapt higher during the load-up and was more side-on than he’s now. “He was maybe a yard or two quicker, but was all over the place. Besides, his action was more prone to injuries. So we made it shorter, a bit straighter and he doesn’t jump as wildly,” he says. Alzarri’s run-up is smooth, his action smoother, thus armed with more control."The more matches he played, the more he learnt, but he never shied away from advice or hard work. He has that attitude, and the passion for the game, not the money involved in it,” Benjamin says.

Winston Benjamin

In Alzarri's debut Test at home, in North Sound, he lost his mother on the third day, but kept his mourning aside and came out to bat at No 10 on the very day, thus enshrining him in the minds of Windies’ tribe of cricket-watching public. Later, he did his bit with the ball too, dismissing Joe Root and Joe Denly. On neither occasion, he celebrated, which was understandable. He even didn't celebrate his outstanding performance in the ongoing IPL. “I don’t really celebrate wickets, I celebrate wins. My aim isn’t just to get wickets, but to win the game for my team,” Alzarri says.Laconic words from the 22-year-old. But Benjamin is least surprised. Neither would Ambrose be. And both would hope that he smiles only reluctantly.