In second Test match of his career, Shamar Joseph etched his name into cricket’s history books. The 24-year-old West Indies pacer was working as a security guard a few years ago, and today he has become a sensation in the Caribbean. Australia were comfortably winning the 2nd Test match at the Gabba until Shamar Joseph unleashed his fierce bowling.
While chasing 215 runs, the Aussies were in the driver’s seat, playing on 113 runs and losing just 2 wickets. But then, Joseph castled Cameron Green and Travis Head in two successive deliveries, and this is where the tables turned. It triggered a collapse in the Australian batting line-up, and one after the other, Shamar Joseph struck 7 wickets.
With his seventh wicket, the hosts were bundled out for 207 runs, leading to an incredible 8-run win for West Indies. Shamar Joseph’s outstanding bowling performance at the Gabba earned West Indies their first victory on Australian soil in the last 27 years. Additionally, it’s their first Test win against the Aussies since their victory at Antigua in 2003. Here’s the video of the moment when West Indies secured the historic win.
It's all over!!!
Shamar Joseph takes SEVEN #AUSvWI pic.twitter.com/fsGR6cjvkj
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 28, 2024
Shamar Joseph received the Player of the Match award for his inspirational spell, playing with an injured toe and leading his side to a historic win. The pacer’s life journey has also been inspirational. He was born in a small community in Guyana, where he grew up without access to technology such as telephone connections or internet facilities. He lived in a village where there was no secondary education available.
In an interview, Shamar revealed that living in a remote village made it difficult to find and purchase cricket balls. As a result, they played cricket with anything that resembled a ball, such as fruits, and they even made balls out of melted plastic bottles. Shamar further revealed he worked with his father and brother in the logging industry, where he used to chop logs. On one occasion, a tree almost fell on him, luckily he escaped unhurt.
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In 2021, before his cricketing career, Shamar worked as a security guard. In 2023, it was the beginning of his professional cricket career as he made his debut for the Guyana domestic team against Barbados. The same year, he earned a spot in the CPL side Guyana Amazon Warriors. His journey reached new heights when he received his debut Test call-up in the series against Australia, where he has emerged as a hero. In addition to today’s heroic spell, Joseph had taken a fifer in the first Test of the series.
