INTERIM West Indies bowling coach, Kenny Benjamin says that Antiguan pacer Alzarri Joseph is built like Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt and that this physique means he will achieve great things in the future.

Joseph, 26, made his debut for the West Indies in 2016 and has been said by many pundits to possess the talents to be one of the bowlers to not only lead the team forward, but also possibly achieve a similar legacy to past players such as his compatriot Sir Curtly Ambrose, and Jamaica’s Courtney Walsh.

“Alzarri is a super athlete,” Benjamin, a former Windies pacer himself, said on the Good Morning Jojo sporting highlights show on Antigua-based Observer Radio recently. “He’s not as fast as Usain Bolt but he looks like Usain Bolt. You see all the cuts, all the chisels, and I myself envy him.”

He was named in the International Cricket Council’s One-Day International Team of the Year for 2022 after claiming 27 wickets in 17 matches at an average of 25.7.

Joseph also produced economical figures of 3/75 from 26 overs at an average of 2.88, and 0/19 off five overs at a rate of 3.8 in Windies’ Test match against hosts Zimbabwe, which they drew earlier this week.

“I think Alzarri is growing from strength to strength, and I think that we can expect great things from him,” Benjamin said. “He looks like he’s enjoying his cricket — he looks relaxed — and I’m just happy that he’s really and truly now showing everybody what we all knew that he can do years ago.”

Benjamin is positive about the direction of bowling in cricket as a whole, as he says the improvement of sports science is allowing pacers to lengthen their careers and produce strong performances, even at the latter stages of their career. He cited England’s James Anderson, 40, and Stuart Broad, 36, and Australia’s Mitchell Starc, 33, as examples of this.

“It has always been a debate as to who is stronger and fitter,” he said. “I believe the players now are stronger and fitter than ever. I think they’re going to get stronger and fitter as more science is applied to sports. Broad and Anderson are two of the players that have played for a long time. Look at Starc — for the last 24 months or so he hasn’t had an injury. He’s chiselled, he’s a big unit, and he bowls fast.”

Benjamin says the region should do more to embrace sports science, or be left behind.

“It’s going in the right direction and I just believe that we need to grasp it and appreciate that that is where sports are going,” he said. “We’re not gonna truly move on until we adapt, one hundred per cent.”

The West Indies, led by Jamaican Interim Head Coach Andre Coley, take on Zimbabwe in the second Test and final in Bulawayo from Sunday to Thursday, with each match day bowling off at 3:00 am Jamaica time.