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Shortly before joining his team-mates for his first day of training as a member of West Indies Test squad, Alzarri Joseph was made to climb a staircase at Sabina Parks North Stand. From somewhere near the middle of the ground, the WICBs media manager trained a 300mm lens on him. He took a few backward steps, eye glued to viewfinder, and stopped moving only when the framing was just right: Joseph on top of the staircase, hands on balustrade, and below him a sign saying Courtney Walsh End.No pressure, young man.Walsh bowled 30,019 balls in Test cricket, the most by any fast bowler, ever. Joseph is yet to play Test cricket, of course, and has only bowled 949 balls in first-class cricket. He is only 19.The cricketing world has seen what Joseph can do in short bursts. At the Under-19 World Cup, he sent the leg stump of Zimbabwes Brendan Sly flying with the fastest ball of the tournament, measured at 143kph, and, in the semi-final, showed he could be just as nasty at the other end of the length spectrum, roughing up the Bangladesh opener Pinak Ghosh with a series of bouncers, one of which clattered into the side of his helmet.Can Joseph sustain that pace, and that intensity, into his third spell of a sweltering day, the way Walsh did time after time in a 16-year Test career? Will West Indies pick Joseph for the second Test against India, and give the cricketing world the opportunity of finding out?Marlon Samuels will not make that decision, but he made his thoughts as clear as possible when he spoke to the media on Thursday.Me? I would definitely play him, he said. Fit, fast and fearless. When are you going to play him? At 25? Hes 19 now, its the best time to just let him go and enjoy himself and express himself.Conditions at Sabina Park might just allow Joseph - or any combination of fast bowlers West Indies pick - to do that. Two days before the Test match, the pitch wore a thick coat of grass. At 10.45am, when the white sheet covering it first came off to allow the umpires to look at it, it was a bright, almost neon green. In the afternoon, when the West Indian players arrived at the ground, and sang Happy Birthday to Sir Garfield Sobers on his 80th, it was still green, but not alarmingly so.Nothing had happened to the pitch in the interim. Perhaps it looked less green because the shock of first seeing it had worn off; perhaps it was just the sun sucking away the mornings moisture. It was just a different shade of green.By the time the Test match commences, the grass might lose a few millimeters, and some of it might get rolled into the surface, but much of it will probably remain in place.Behind the western square boundary is the Kingston Cricket Clubs pavilion, and mounted on the roof beams of the members bar are plaques commemorating every batsman to have scored centuries in both innings of Test matches. If the pitch for this Test match plays true to its appearance, it will take some effort for anyone to join Clyde Walcott and Lawrence Rowe in achieving that feat at Sabina Park.But batsmen, according to the groundsman Charlie Joseph, will enjoy true bounce, at least on the first two days.Mikey [Michael Holding] always used to tell me, you need bounce on the first two days, Charlie Joseph said. What happens on the third and fourth day, thats not up to you. Thats nature. But you want true bounce on the first two days. You want to put your foot here, he says, planting left foot firmly forward, and do that - a shadow cover drive, on the up. Thats good cricket.We will only know for certain on Saturday, but conditions could cause both teams to alter the strategies they employed in Antigua. West Indies are chasing the series, and a green pitch gives them as good a chance as theyll probably get to bowl India out twice. A green pitch could also narrow the gap between the bowling attacks, but West Indies will need to do some of that narrowing themselves. That will mean picking Joseph, or Miguel Cummins, or both, to partner Shannon Gabriel and give the pace attack more bite.India played five bowlers in Antigua, on a slow pitch that offered bounce but little sideways movement. Here, four bowlers could do the job, with the legspin of Amit Mishra potentially surplus to requirements. This could allow them the security of an extra batsman. With only four players - Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul and Bhuvneshwar Kumar - turning up for an optional session on Thursday, India did not reveal any of their cards. By Friday, a clearer picture should emerge.Whichever way the teams go, they will probably need to contend with a green track. Kent Crafton, the WICBs regional curator, who is overseeing the preparation of all the pitches for this series, said the board has made a concerted push to prepare quicker, bouncier pitches. We want to get it back up here, he said, bringing his hands up to chest level.Going by the bounce seen in Antigua, and the look of the pitch in Kingston, the efforts seem to be paying off. Its a positive sign, a rare one in West Indies Test cricket. Los Angeles Angels Gear . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period. Los Angeles Angels Shirts . "Four now," Carl Gunnarsson told the Leaf Report proudly following a 5-2 victory over New York on Tuesday night, the clubs fifth straight at home. https://www.cheapangels.com/ . Two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the April 15 race in an area packed with fans cheering the passing runners. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured, including at least 16 who lost limbs. Los Angeles Angels Store . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. Angels Jerseys China . Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1. MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- As much as coach Bob Huggins liked watching his West Virginia teams full-court press force turnovers last season, he cringed at how frequently his own ballhandlers threw away possessions.With three veteran guards returning, better ballhandling could make this a special season for the 20th-ranked Mountaineers, who open play by hosting Mount St. Marys on Friday (7 p.m. ET).West Virginia was picked to finish second to Kansas in the Big 12 -- the Mountaineers highest projection in five years since switching conferences.That doesnt mean anything unless you back it up. And now weve got to go back it up, Huggins said.Last seasons 26-9 record, which included a runner-up finish to the Jayhawks during the Big 12 regular season and conference tournament, brought more frenetic defense tempered by frantic offense. While forcing the second-most turnovers per game (17.8) in the nation, the West Virginia ranked 303rd out of 346 Division I teams in turnovers committed (14.2).We need to not throw it out of bounds so much, Huggins said. Our ball security was as bad as its been probably in my nine years here.That sloppiness surfaced during a first-round exit from the NCAA Tournament. A 70-56 upset loss to 14th-seeded Stephen F. Austin saw West Virginia produce 22 turnovers and only 16 field goals.Such upside-down ratios may be a thing of the past now that dual point guards Tarik Philip (9.3 points, 2.5 rebounds) and Jevon Carter (9.5 points, 1.6 steals) return, along with shooting guard Daxter Miles (9.4 points, 1.4 steals). After playing together for two years, the trio set an offseason pace in hopes their shooting catches up with their gritty defense.Huggins will need offensive help after losing top scorers Jaysean Paige (13.7 points), the Big 12s sixth man of the year, and Devin Williams (13.dddddddddddd3 points, 9.5 rebounds), the leagues leading rebounder.This league has come down to last possessions a lot, and youve got to get hard rebounds, Huggins said. Dev could do that for us, so were going to have to have other guys step up.Much is expected of late-developing forward Elijah Macon, who arrived at West Virginia as a top-100 recruit three years ago but has yet to come close to that potential.Sophomore small forward Esa Ahmad (4.9 points, 2.7 rebounds) also anticipates bigger contributions after making 34 starts last season.The sleeper standout could be senior Nathan Adrian, a 6-foot-9 forward who shot nearly 50 percent from 3-point range while averaging 4.5 points and 3.1 rebounds. He has been a breakout scorer in scrimmages and exhibitions.Mount St. Marys, 1-25 all-time against ranked teams and 14-19 last season, returns three starters and was picked fourth in the Northeast Conference.The Mount has dropped seven consecutive season openers to a string of power programs that includes Maryland, Arizona, Pittsburgh, Marquette, Dayton, Oklahoma and West Virginia in 2013.Jamion Christian enters his fifth season as coach with a 63-65 record, though his exciting teams have blended pressure defense and a 3-point attack.This is a mentally tough group, Christian told the Frederick (Md.) News-Post about the teams schedule, which also features Iowa State, Minnesota, Michigan and Arkansas. I feel it wants a challenge like this and can handle it.Mount St. Marys features dynamic 5-foot-5 guard Junior Robinson, a second-team all-conference performer last season, when he averaged 12.2 points and 3.1 assists. ' ' '