“Bouncing” Joseph, has labelled criticism over his selection as “justified

Antigua Observer article.

St John's, Antigua - Captain of the Antigua & Barbuda senior cricket team, Sylvester “Bouncing” Joseph, has labelled criticism over his selection as “justified” stating that his performances with the bat over the last two seasons have not been up to par.

Joseph was selected to a 14-man Senior National Team for the country’s opening LICA Three-Day match against Montserrat at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Grounds (SVRCG) on Thursday.

The player, a former West Indies opening batsman, said his form at the crease will improve significantly during this year’s tournaments.

“I had a very poor (last) season but this time around I feel much more comfortable. I wasn’t captaining last season but the selectors asked me to take up that mantle again and I did that … one of my assets as a player, my ability to captain and that is a big part of who I am as a cricketer.

“I think my batting will fall into line and I am feeling well, I am doing well and the preparation has been good,” Joseph said.

“People have a right to talk concerning the performances in terms of my batting and especially last season so I think the criticism, to somewhat, has been justified,” he added.

Antigua & Barbuda will compete in Zone 1 of the competition, which also includes Montserrat and Nevis.

The players, he added, should be well prepared as they would have benefited from a month of intense training.

“We had three to four good weeks of preparation, which I thought went pretty well with coach Ridley Jacobs assisted by Pernell Watley, John Archibald and Carl Casey, the trainer, who has been doing a really good job for us so I think that tomorrow (Thursday) it is just time for us to execute,” Joseph said.

“For the past couple of years the opportunity to get a good training session in has always (been a challenge) because we are always called upon at the last minute but this time around I think we have adequate amount of preparation time that will give us a good opportunity to go out and show our skills,” he added.

Following the Three-Day contest which ends on Saturday, the Antiguans and Barbudans will take on Montserrat in a 50 Overs contest starting September 28.