Shamar Joseph: The Man Who Claimed the Gabba Fortress

(Shamar Joseph celebrating after picking up a wicket)

The game of cricket has been a witness to some of the best stories and the story of Shamar Joseph is one such incident where everyone has praised him for his dedication. From being a security guard to claiming the Gabba fortress, Shamar Joseph has been an inspiration for all the young kids out there. Now, after being the hero for the West Indies team in the test format, he has even earned an IPL contract from the Lucknow Super Giants. His life has been a complete roller coaster because of the struggles that he has seen and the way he has come out from them is just brilliant to watch. However, it wasn’t an easy road for the fast bowler and hence here, we will be discussing how this man came out and transformed his life well for his family.

Shamar Joseph’s early life

After being born in a poor family of 3 sisters along with 4 brothers, life wasn’t easy for Shamar Joseph. As a child, he used to watch the bowling of Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, the renowned opening bowlers of the West Indies team. He spent countless hours watching their highlights, emulating their techniques in tape-ball games played around his village. Using fruits like lemons, limes, guavas, and peaches, along with a tape ball, Joseph engaged in what locals fondly called "jungle-land cricket" in Baracara. Additionally, he improvised with makeshift balls made from melted plastic bottles to refine his skills further.

Before starting his cricket career, Joseph worked alongside his family in the logging industry, cutting and transporting logs in Baracara. However, a close call with a falling tree prompted him to prioritize safety. Concerned for his well-being and eager to support his family in a safer environment, he relocated to New Amsterdam. There, he found employment in construction and later as a security guard. This transition marked a pivotal moment in Joseph's life, allowing him to pursue stability while continuing to nurture his passion for cricket.

(Shamar Joseph during a training camp in his early days)

However, while working in such a big shift, Joseph’s focus on cricket started shifting as he wasn’t able to give proper time to the sport and hence it was becoming difficult for him to follow his dream. However, he and his fiancee made the tough decision of leaving the job and made Shamar focus completely on cricket to allow him to do something big and better in his life.

How a meeting with Romario Shepherd changed Shamar Joseph's life

After leaving the job as a security guard, Joseph was looking for opportunities to play cricket and this is where he met Romario Shepherd, the West Indies cricketer who introduced him to the Guyana cricket team and it was Esuan Crandon, who took him under consideration and in just his first match for the team, he picked up 6 wickets that eventually earned him the attention of some of the greats of the West Indies cricket. After achieving success in Division 1 cricket, he started playing Regional Four-Day Competitions which gave him a chance to showcase his skills well.

Initially hired as a practice bowler for the 2023 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) by the Guyana Amazon Warriors, Joseph's path took a surprising turn when he was asked to fill in for an injured player, Keemo Paul. He made his T20 debut in a match against the Barbados Royals on 17 September 2023. Despite playing in only two matches during his first CPL season, Joseph played an important role in the Guyana Amazon Warriors' victory in the tournament. He impressed with his ability to consistently bowl fast deliveries, often exceeding speeds of 140 kph. Joseph's unexpected journey from a practice bowler to a crucial player in a championship-winning team highlighted his potential and hinted at a bright future in cricket.

(Shamar Joseph holding the CPL title with his family)

After winning the CPL title with Guyana Amazon Warriors, Shamar Joseph started getting opportunities in the different competitions going on in the West Indies. Moreover, he was even included in the West Indies A side that toured the South Africa A side. In just his first series for the West Indies A, he managed to pick up 12 wickets for them and hence the selectors of the West Indies team started noticing him and provided him with one of the biggest opportunities in the game of cricket.

Getting to the Gabba Fortress

The first-class career of Shamar Joseph started with a bang and hence he got the International call for the West Indies tour of Australia where the team was scheduled to play a 2-match test series at Adelaide and Brisbane. Shamar Joseph was included in the squad with 6 other players who got the chance to play test cricket for the first time. The first test saw West Indies batting first and it was Shamar Joseph who made 36 runs from just 41 balls and he registered the highest score by a West Indies batter at number 11 on the test debut.

However, the biggest moment for him in test cricket came when he dismissed the best test batter of this era on the first ball of his debut match as he dismissed Steve Smith for just 12 runs. In the press conference, he even stated that Smith is one of his favourite batters and he always had a dream of dismissing him in the toughest format of the game. On January 18, 2024, during his test debut, Shamar Joseph impressed with a remarkable performance, claiming his first five-wicket haul in test cricket. This achievement made him only the tenth West Indian cricketer to achieve such a feat on debut. Moreover, he became the first West Indian player to both score over 50 runs and take a five-wicket haul on test debut, earning admiration from fans despite West Indies' loss in the match.

(Shamar Joseph celebrating after dismissing Steve Smith on his first ball of the career)

Coming to the second test of the series, Mitchell Starc bowled a yorker then went straight to Shamar Joseph’s toe and it badly injured him. He wasn’t even able to walk properly and was carried out off the field by his teammates. Australia was now set a target of 216 runs and they started off positively and were looking set to chase the target. However, it was Shamar Joseph who returned completely well to get West Indies back into the game.

He picked 7 wickets in his 11.5 overs and gave away 68 runs in between. With 9 runs needed for the Australian team, Shamar Joseph dismissed Josh Hazlewood to give West Indies a win by 8 runs and they got the series drawn 1-1. West Indies won the test after 27 years on Australian soil and it was Shamar Joseph who was given the Player of the Series award for picking up 13 wickets. The story of Shamar Joseph is surely an inspirational one because of the way he transformed his life completely and is now a cricketing sensation in the world of sports.