Prolific West Indies bowler, Shamar Joseph has scripted history by scalping seven wickets & helping West Indies to beat Australia by 8 runs in the second Test of the series on Sunday. The entire Caribbean rejoiced as they clinched their first test win on Australian soil after 27 years. Though Australia stayed unbeaten in the second innings scoring 91 runs in 146 balls, Steven Smith’s efforts went in vain as the Aussies failed to reach the 216 runs target, all thanks to Shamar Joseph.
All that you need to know about Shamar Joseph
Born on August 31st, 1999, Shamar Joseph is a Guayanese Cricketer who plays for Guyana in first-class cricket & for West Indies in International Cricket. The prolific right-arm fast bowler made his International debut for the West Indies team in January 2024 against Australia in Adelaide Test where he scalped Smith’s wicket right on his first ball going on to scalp five wickets (5-94) which is the best Test figure for any West Indies bowler in Australia. Before his professional Cricketing Career, he worked as a security guard.
Shamar Joseph broke into tears by the end of Day 3 as he couldn’t contribute significant runs in the Gabba Test the way he scored during his Test debut in Adelaide. It was a lethal yorker from Mitchell Starc that resulted in Joseph getting dismissed and retired hurt. As a result, West Indies was dismissed for a meager 193 runs, handing a target of 216 runs for Australia to chase. While the total wasn’t an impossible task for a team like the Aussies, the task became impossible as the Windies’ Premier bowler did the unexpected by scalping seven wickets & restricting Australia to 208 runs.
Shamar Joseph’s 7 wicket haul restricted Australia’s Run-Flow
The fourth day of the second Test began with Smith & Cameron Green opening the innings for the Aussies as the hosts were reeling at 60-2. But in front of Shamar Joseph’s lethal pace attack, Australia couldn’t chase the target. Joseph made the first breakthrough by dismissing Green for 42 runs in the 31st over. In the same over he hit another mark by removing star batter Travis Head for a duck to take an early advantage. As the session progressed Joseph went on to dismiss Australia’s top order by dismissing Mitchell Marsh (10 runs from 12 balls), Alex Carey (2 runs from 5 balls), Mitchell Starc (21 runs from 14 balls), and Pat Cummins (2 runs from 8 balls) within 43rd over.
Not to forget Azarri Joseph picked the first wicket of the fourth day by dismissing Nathan Lyon in the 48th over. And in the 51st over Shamar Joseph picked his seventh wicket by dismissing Josh Hazlewood. It was unbelievable that Joseph could make such a comeback after suffering a toe injury. However, He ended the second inning with fiery figures of 7/68 and was named the ‘Player of the Match’.
Earlier in the Test match the visitors began the third session of Day 3 at 183 after a loss of six wickets. The Windies could play just 11.4 overs in the third session as they were wrapped up for 193 runs. Kirk McKenzie remained the top scorer of the Windies in the second inning with 41 runs off 50 balls. For the Aussies, the star bowlers were Hazlewood & Lyon who scalped three wickets each in their respective spells. One wicket each was grabbed by Mitchell Starc and Green.
Shamar Joseph’s Early Life
Shamar Joseph was born in Bancara which is a small community in East Berbice-Corentyne, Guyana,[9][10] about 225 km up the Canje River. He was born & brought up in a backward village where there were no internet facilities or telephone connections as Baracara only had one black and white television and no other modes of communication except land-lines. It was only in 2018 that the village got access to the Internet.
Joseph has a big family of three sisters & five brothers. Joseph idolized Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, opening bowlers of the West Indies cricket team, watching their highlights and imitating them in his tape ball games around the village. In a land full of forest Joseph used to play cricket with fruits such as lemons, limes, guavas, and peaches along with a tape ball and it was dubbed as jungle-land cricket in Baracara. He is also the neighbor of fellow West Indies Cricketer Romario Shepherd. He began his cricketing career by playing for Tucber Park Cricket Club in a few first-division and second-division matches. He is notably the first test cricketer from Bancara.
Shamar Joseph Domestic Career
Romario Shepherd introduced Shaamr Joseph to the Guyana Cricket team where he was connected with other senior players of the Guyanese team. Joseph didn’t let the opportunity go & returned with figures of 6-13 in Division 1 Cricket. Joseph also played club cricket for the Muslim Youth Organisation (MYO) Sports Club in Georgetown. His first-class debut for the Guyana team came against Barbados on 1 February 2023 during the 2022–23 West Indies Championship. He took his career’s first-class five-wicket haul in the first-class cricket against the Windward Islands during the 2022–23 West Indies Championship and ended with figures of 5/41 in a spell bowling 12 overs.
Joseph made his T20 debut for Barbados Royals & helped Guyana Amazon Warriors to lift the CPL 2023 trophy. Though he played 2 matches in the CPL 2023 his remarkable deliveries exceeding 140 kmph helped the Warriors to register remarkable wins. Shamar Joseph made his List A debut for Guyana against Barbados on 29 October 2023 during the 2023–24 Super50 Cup. And in November 2023 he was named in the West Indies A side for their tour of South Africa to play against the South African A side in a three-match first-class series. Shamar was impressive during the first-class series against South African A side where he was the joint wicket-taker for the West Indies A side alongside Kevin Sinclair with 12 scalps.
Shamar Joseph’s International Career
In December 2023 Joseph was one of the seven uncapped players named in the West Indies test squad for the tour of Australia as part of the 2023–2025 ICC World Test Championship. His Test debut came in Adelaide Test where he came at No 11 during the first innings of the West Indies Test & scored 36 runs off 41 balls. He had also stitched a last wicket stand of 55 runs with Kemar Roach to support the West Indies to a total of 188. His stunning stint made him the highest individual run-scorer in West Indies Cricket by coming at No 11.
Shamar made his country proud by scalping the wicket of Steve Smith right on the first delivery of his Test career. He also became only the second West Indies bowler to have taken a wicket off the first delivery bowled in test cricket after Tyrell Johnson. He went on to add a plethora of records to his name by registering a five-wicket haul on his Test debut. By doing so he became the tenth cricketer from West Indies to take a five-wicket haul. He also became the second bowler in test cricket history after Nathan Lyon to complete the double of having taken a wicket off the first ball in his Test career and having taken five wickets on his Test debut in his maiden innings.
Joseph then went on to register his second five-wicket haul during Australia’s second Test. His stunning seven-wicket haul helped the West Indies clinch a thrilling test win by a margin of eight runs. His stellar performance helped West Indies to register their first Test win against Australia in 27 years. It was Shamar who put the final nail in the coffin by dismissing Hazlewood to complete a historic test victory and it sparked some joy in commentators including the likes of Ian Bishop who was quoted saying “A real dream come true for ‘Joseph the Deliverer’, for the West Indies.”
Shamar’s outstanding performance helped him to receive the Player of the Series Award & helped him to end the Test series with 13 wickets in his kitty.
Also read, WTC 2023-25 Points Table After India And Australia’s Loss
