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West Indian pacer Shamar Joseph praised England star James Anderson before expressing his wish to ruin his farewell Test in the series opener at Lord's, starting July 10. Anderson will play his final international game in the first Test of the England-West Indies three-match series.
The 41-year-old is third all-time in Test wickets behind only spin twins Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan with 700 in an incredible 187 matches. Meanwhile, Joseph has been a revelation in his brief two-match Test career, starring in West Indies' famous drawn series in Australia earlier this year.
Speaking to the reporters in the build-up to the opening Test, Joseph had high praise for Anderson despite wanting to spoil his farewell party.
"He is such an amazing player. Someone I have looked up to. Someone who is very good at this level. You could say he’s perfect because he has a lot of wickets at this level. Definitely, I would want to ruin that farewell for him," said Joseph.
Joseph picked up 13 wickets in his debut series down under, including seven in the second innings of the final Test at Brisbane, at an average of 17.30.
His heroics helped the West Indies win a Test in Australia for the first time since 1997.
"England is known for a good fast bowling" - Shamar Joseph
Shamar Joseph hoped to produce a stellar effort on England pitches, highlighting how pacers traditionally perform well here.
West Indies play England in three Tests at Lord's, Trent Bridge, and Edgbaston from July 10 to 30.
“I’m excited to be here. England is known for a good fast bowling. Oh they’re great. Watching a lot of the Ashes with great fast bowlers, Jofra Archer, Mitchell Starc, all the great fast bowlers come out here and do well. that’s something I would want to do as well. Since our last tour of Australia, we maintain our energy. That’s the mindset we come into this series with (that West Indies can compete against England)," said Joseph.
West Indies triumphed in the most recent meeting between the teams in Tests by a 1-0 margin at home. However, in their last meeting in England, the hosts upstaged the Caribbean side by a 2-1 scoreline in 2020.
The overall head-to-head sees the West Indies ahead by a slender 59-51 margin with 53 draws in 163 Tests.
