There aren’t enough superlatives to frame the courageous single-mindedness of Baracara’s and Guyana’s Shamar Joseph in leading the West Indies to this marvellous victory over Australia in the wee hours of yesterday.
When his feats on that day are recounted in years from now it will be with great reverence, awe and disbelief that in only his second Test match and a year after he came to serious cricketing notice that he delivered this sensational performance with a crushed toe and a determination to bowl right to the end of the contest.
In hindsight, if Mitchell Starc had been aware of the ferocious spirit that would have been unleashed, he might not have sent down that terrifying yorker on Saturday that smashed into Joseph’s toe and almost knocked him out of the match. As reported by ESPN and other outlets, Joseph had not even been expecting to go to the ground on Sunday and only turned up in his practice gear. Then he got a call from his doctor and must have been ministered with a marvel of modern science that numbed all of the pain from the crushed digit, at least until he could prise out seven wickets and wheel exuberantly around the ground time and time again.
With this new lease on his toe he pleaded with his captain Kraigg Brathwaite to keep him going “till the last wicket falls”.
“It was just [about being] positive. That’s all. [My team-mates] said just go out there and do it – take wickets,” he said. “It was just our positivity. I am not that tired because I wanted to do this for my team. I told my skipper I would bowl to the end until the last wicket falls.
“It doesn’t matter how my toes are, I’m okay. I did it for him and I am happy that he is proud of me now”, said the very modest Joseph.
The carnage was to follow. A good length ball deflected from Cameron Green’s elbow and crashed into his stumps and the next ball delivered at heady pace bowled Travis Head. And so it went until Josh Hazlewood fell the same way – an astounding seven wickets for a man who just hours earlier did not even believe he was still in the game.
It was West Indies’ first Test win in Australia since 1997 – 26 years in the wilderness – and the first victory against them since 2003. On the same ground of the recently departed Joe Solomon’s tied-test heroics in 1960, Joseph’s performance has no doubt stirred the spirits of the West Indian greats and long-disillusioned fans – there is hope and the cricketing heights previously conquered beckon again. Test cricket is also truly alive when one takes account of England’s stunning victory over India yesterday.
Writing about Joseph in the Stabroek News of January 25th, columnist Orin Davidson said: “The player’s most noted quality though is clearly his hunger to succeed, a trait almost non-existent among current Regional cricketers.
“It requires a special courage and desire to quit one’s day job, in Joseph’s case doing the rounds in security, with a family to feed, to venture into the unknown world of trying to make it in the risky world of professional sports.
“Ex- national player, now United Kingdom- based coach Nolan McKenzie exemplified Joseph’s zeal while recounting an interaction with the player last year. It was during that coaching stint organized by the indefatigable Hilbert Foster, Berbice’s hardest working administrator ever, which featured legendary former Test paceman Curtly Ambrose. According to McKenzie, the fast bowling-centric stint, included a session for batting. Joseph had the audacity to coax his way into getting a hit and proceeded to belt sixes out of the ground with such ease, the former opening batsman predicted the young fast bowler becoming a better batsman than most of his Guyana teammates. Less than six months after, Joseph proved in Australia he’s being wasted at number 11 in the West Indies lineup.
“ Enthusiasm though, can only take you so far as Joseph also seems to have an appetite to grind out training sessions at every opportunity”.
Joseph’s astounding achievement should also prick the conscience of our cricket overlords and administrators in relation to the talent that exists along our vibrant rivers and in the hinterland. By sheer force of will, Joseph has motored along and is blazing his own trail. There are many potential Josephs but they must be scouted and given the opportunities. Joseph himself needs to be provided with as much help as possible so as to not be overwhelmed by cricket and to be able to balance his familial responsibilities while further developing his craft.
When he was capped on January 16, on the first day of the first test where he made his stunning debut, Joseph got sage advice from another formidable West Indian speedster, now commentator, Ian Bishop. With a pat on his shoulder, Bishop told Joseph that he now had “A chance to carry on the legacy, the great legacy of fast bowling which was set up by Hall and Griffith, Holding, Roberts, Garner, Marshall, Ambrose, Walsh and those guys. Now it is on your shoulder. It is a great honour to present you with this cap and every time you put it on, every time you look at it remember, 12 months ago you bet on yourself. You came from little and now you are a national cricketer. Remember your family. Those who have helped you, those who love you and those who supported you over the years every time you look at it. And aspire to greatness”. He has definitely begun his journey on that path.
