ALZARRI JOSEPH: BETWAY SA20 HELPED ME ON THE TOUR OF SOUTH AFRICA

The second Betway SA20 season is sure to attract many high-profile overseas players after Alzarri Josephs’ star performances during the recent West Indies tour of South Africa.

The lanky Antiguan fast bowler enjoyed breakout performances in both the Test and T20I series, finishing as the tourists leading bowler across formats with 12 and six wickets respectively.

This included maiden five-wicket hauls in the second Test at Centurion (5/81) and the series-clinching T20I at the Wanderers (5/40).

The 26-year-old credits these performances to the experience he gained while playing in the first half of the Betway SA20 season for the Joburg Super Kings. Joseph could unfortunately not complete the second leg of the Betway SA20 season as he was called up to the Windies Test squad for the tour of Zimbabwe.

“I would say it is a fairly good tour for me in all formats,” Joseph said.

“Having that experience of playing here in the SA20 really helped me along the way. It was a really good experience.”

Although having previously played in the Indian Premier League, where he helped the Gujarat Titans to the championship title last year, and also Caribbean Premier League, Joseph has really matured over the past 12 months on the international stage.

Former West Indies paceman Kenny Benjamin works closely with Joseph when he is with the Windies national team, but the experience of Joburg Super Kings bowling coach Eric Simons would also have played a big role in his development.

Joseph is certainly grateful for all the assistance he has received along the way.

“I have always tried to improve from the start of my career. It’s about ironing out that one percent every day,” he said.

“Getting information, using it as much as I can, and also adjusting to conditions. Sometimes you get information, but on the day it’s a bit different. So, about adapting to the different conditions.”

Joseph was not the only West Indian star to have benefited from their Betway SA20 experience.

Durban’s Super Giants duo Jason Holder (271 runs) and Kyle Mayers (233 runs) were the tourists’ leading run-scorers across formats.