Holder dedicates win to Joseph’s mother

All the jubilation of winning a series against England aside, West Indies’ 10-wicket triumph on the third day of the second Test in Antigua was one tinged with poignancy because it was achieved the day following the death of young pacer Alzarri Joseph's mother.

Sharon Joseph had been suffering with a brain tumour for some time, and had passed away overnight. The young fast bowler however chose to take full part in the game. He was part of a full training session before the day’s play, and helped his side increase their lead with seven from 20 balls, before bowling a searing seven-over spell that netted the wickets of Joe Denly and England skipper Joe Root.  

"It's difficult to describe the feelings," West Indies skipper Holder was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo after the match. "We started the day with a daunting task, trying to push on our lead, and then we got the news about Alzarri's mum so we all wanted to rally around one another and we wanted to do it for her."

"Alzarri was exceptional. 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.

"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, 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.”

The 22-year-old fast bowler, along with Shimron Hetmyer one of the two youngest members in the side, had received an emotional standing ovation from the Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium crowd when he went out to bat in the morning. 

"To see him in tears this morning was even harder, and we came together in the huddle and we just wanted to do it for him and we dedicate this day to him, his mum and his family.

"It was up to him if he played. I didn't want to deprive him of the opportunity to take the field. 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 mum and credit to him, he held his hand up high and did an exceptional job for us.”