Whenever a mother dies, the world becomes a poorer place. The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. The Windies team was thrown into mourning yesterday as news came to hand that young pacer Alzarri Joseph had lost his mom, after a prolonged battle with illness.
The young man who hails from Central village of All Saints in Antigua still took the field and performed well for his team against England on the third day of the second Wisden Test at the Sir Vivian Richards ground.
Joseph's mother Sharon has been battling with a brain tumor for since 2015 and she finally gave up on Saturday. Her mother and Alzarri's grandmother Aileen Joseph was however absent from the ground on the day.
She normally operates the manual scoreboard on the Western side of the ground.
Sharon was an avid sportsperson back in the day and tried her hands at football, netball, and cricket. She was particularly good at softball cricket and was always athletic say those close to her.
After being diagnosed in 2015 things went downhill for her and although she visited the United States to receive treatment it was always going to be difficult for her to recover. Last year Joseph had to leave a Windies tour and fly back home to be with her when things got really bad.
Alzarri was her only child and she was very proud of his achievements on the field of play and when he made the leap to the Windies senior team.
However, yesterday, as he walked out to bat, he received a standing ovation from the fans here and England's Barmy Army played the trumpet. Both teams also paid respects to him and his family by wearing black armbands.
Tributes also poured in from legends Sir Vivian Richards and Sir Curtly Ambrose. Richards said: "At this point in time we must give him all the support we can. I am sure he will get that but to go out there and to play for the West Indies under that pressure, shows you the mettle of the young man. I am proud of him and wish him all the best in coping with this loss."
Ambrose who is in Australia taking part in the 'Dancing with the Stars' show said: "I would like to send condolences to the young man, all his family, and even his close friends. I will also like to let him know that we are thinking of him at this moment and our prayers are with him as well."
