Few years down a person in a family of five brothers and three sisters, growing up idolizing Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh , opening bowlers of the then West Indies team in the 90s and early 2000s, imitating them in his tape ball games across his village, starting to bowl with fruits like lemons, lime ,guavas and peaches along with tape ball which was dubbed as ‘Jungle cricket’ in Baracara, 24 year Shamar Joseph has launched himself into the history books on 28th January 2024 as his spell of 7-68 decimated Australia in Gabba by 8 runs.
These heroics from 24 year old pacer formerly a security guard who debuted in this test series in the first match picking up fifer in the same , getting toe crushed by an Yorker only to return to bowl an inspired spell in an day night test ,Shamar Joseph as etched himself a place in history of West Indies cricket as his spell inspired West Indies to beat Australia for the first time in Pink ball test.
The heroics of Shamar Joseph
This heroics of Shamar Joseph came on the backdrop of the fact that on the previous night during the West Indies , Mitchell Starc ‘s toe crushing yorker hit the toe of the player while batting and he was rushed to the hospital. Shamar Joseph stayed in the hospital the whole night with his team and the captain Kraigg Braithwaite only to know one hour before the days play to resume that luckily no fracture was observed and Shamar Joseph was cleared to play.
Limping on one leg while going back to strides , this hero at the Gabba, Shamar Joseph not only bowled one of the inspired and greatest spells of Test cricket scalping 7 Australian wickets in just 11.5 overs with immaculate pace and sheer determination through his line and length to give West Indies an memorable victory over Australia in Australia after 27 years since 1997.
Legendary bowler Curtly Ambrose who introduced Shamar Joseph to West Indies first class cricket through Guyana teammate Romario Shepherd , was heavily impressed with this heroic spell that he had accolades for this young 24 year old speedster comparing him to the all time great fast bowler Malcolm Marshall.
Curtly Ambrose compares Shamar Joseph to Legendary Malcolm Marshall
Former West Indies pace spearhead Curtly Ambrose believes Shamar Joseph is the clone of the late Malcolm Marshall. The retired cricketer hopes to see Joseph play a lot more red-ball cricket in the near future before deciding his commitment to other forms.
Joseph has emerged as one of the brightest prospects for the West Indies in recent times. The 24-year-old took a fifer on his Test debut against Australia and took seven wickets in Brisbane to fashion their first win in the longest format Down Under since 1997.
Speaking to The Daily Star in Dhaka, Ambrose said he wants Joseph to keep learning and stay focused as he begins his rise. The 60-year-old Antiguan wants the youngster to only concentrate on red-ball cricket for now.
“He is a skiddy customer, more in the mold of Malcolm Marshall. So, I hope that he remains focused, humble and continues to learn his craft and tries to learn and improve every single day,” said Curtly Ambrose.
“I would like to see Shamar Joseph play a lot of red-ball cricket. He has just started his career, so he needs to learn and understand what it takes to become a world-class fast bowler, and then you can always branch out to ODIs or T20 cricket,” he added.
It was a spirited display from Joseph, whose toe was wounded on Day 3, courtesy of a Mitchell Starc yorker. However, he played through the pain and earned the Player of the Match award.
Curtly Ambrose post Shamar Joseph’s heroics stated that West Indies should play more test matches
Curtly Ambrose rated beating Australia as a massive achievement, given the West Indies sent an inexperienced side. However, the 60-year-old hopes they have turned a corner, saying:
“We sent a team where we have seven or eight [seven] young players who never played Test match cricket. To me, that was significant and that should do their confidence a world of good, and let’s hope they can build on this going forward. The only downside for West Indies is we are not playing enough Test cricket,”
It was also West Indies’ first Test win over Australia since 2003. It remains to be seen how this heroics from young Shamar Joseph inspires upcoming generation of West Indian fast bowling to create a era of 70s and 80s once they had as a legacy in upcoming years in the longest format of the game test cricket.