West Indies Alzarri Joseph leaves field after on-pitch dispute with captain Shai Hope

West Indies head coach Daren Sammy has labelled Alzarri Joseph's conduct in the third ODI against England as "unacceptable" after the fast bowler left the field during play following a dispute with captain Shai Hope.

The incident unfolded in the fourth over of the innings in Bridgetown, where Joseph, visibly frustrated with the field placement, was seen exchanging words with Hope. On the fourth delivery, Joseph managed to dismiss Jordan Cox caught behind but refrained from celebrating with his teammates, returning directly to his mark. At the end of the over, he walked off the field without notifying anyone, leaving West Indies a player short as they began the fifth over with only ten men.

Reflecting on the incident, Sammy addressed it candidly with TalkSPORT after the match: "Behaviour like that is unacceptable on my cricket field. We will be friends…but in the culture I'm trying to build, that's unacceptable. We'll definitely have a conversation about it."

Joseph returned at the start of the sixth over but didn't resume bowling until the twelfth. He bowled two overs before temporarily leaving the pitch again, following two misfields off his own bowling that allowed England two runs through overthrows. Joseph later returned to bowl two more overs in the middle phase and completed his spell in the death overs, finishing with figures of 2 for 45 from his 10 overs, having also dismissed Dan Mousley.

Since his appointment as head coach in May 2023, Sammy has earned a reputation for effective man-management, encouraging the return of players like Andre Russell and Evin Lewis to the international squad. Sammy stressed the importance of setting high standards, saying, "I pride myself on having the difficult conversations, but in a way that everyone understands what needs to be done. Seeing players progress in the right direction makes me proud, even if there's still a lot of work ahead."

West Indies secured a 2-1 win in the ODI series, with a five-match T20 series against England starting on Saturday. Sammy hinted at the return of senior players who missed the recent tour of Sri Lanka, including Nicholas Pooran and Akeal Hosein.

"We have a few senior players who weren't in Sri Lanka that we expect to be back," Sammy added. "Our T20 team is our most successful and settled team. While we've incorporated some fresh faces to give them exposure, our T20 squad largely picks itself."