Shamar Joseph (born 31 August 1999) is a Guyanese cricketer who plays for Guyana in first-class cricket and for the West Indies in international cricket.^[1][2] He is a right-arm fast medium bowler. He made his international debut for the West Indies cricket team in January 2024 against Australia at the Adelaide Oval where he took Steve Smith’s wicket with his first ball in test cricket, going on to take five wickets (5/94), the best test debut for any West Indian bowler in Australia.^[3][4][5] Prior to his professional cricket career, he worked as a security guard.^[6][7]

Biography

Joseph is from Baracara, a small community in East Berbice-Corentyne, Guyana.^[8][9] He lived in Baracara is a remote village about 225 km up the Canje River; it usually takes two days by boat to reach Baracara.^[10][11] He grew up in Baracara which had little to no access to internet facilities and Baracara reportedly received internet only in 2018.^[12] Baracara had one black and white television and the village had no other modes of communication except land-lines.^[11]

He grew up in a family of three sisters and five brothers.^[10] Joseph grew up idolising 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.^[10] He started bowling with fruits such as guavas and peaches along with a tape ball and it was dubbed as jungle-land cricket in Baracara.^[11] Currently, he is is the neighbour of fellow West Indies cricketer Romario Shepherd.^[11]

He experienced his first taste of cricket playing for Tucber Park Cricket Club in a few first-division and second-division matches.^[13] He became the first test cricketer from Baracara, with a population of around 350.^[14]

Early career

Prior to his cricket career, Joseph worked with his siblings and father in the logging industry, felling and chopping logs in the Bacara area and transporting the timber down the Canje River to New Amsterdam.^[11] Following an incident in which he was nearly hit by a falling tree, Joseph decided to move away from Bacara, and relocated to New Amsterdam seeking work to support his family.^[11]

In New Amsterdam, Joseph found employment first in construction, working as a labourer, and then as a security guard.^[11] His job as a security guard required him to work long, 12-hour shifts, across day and night, leaving little scope for cricketing endeavours.^[11][15] Eventually, with the support of his fiancée, Joseph decided to quit his job and pursue his cricketing ambitions full time.^[16]

Domestic career

It was through Romario Shepherd that Shamar Joseph got his first break in cricket. Shepherd introduced Joseph to the Guyana cricket team where Joseph connected with Esuan Crandon, the Guyana head coach, and with other senior Guyanese players. Joseph immediately made a great impression, recording debut figures of 6/13 in Division 1 cricket. He also attended a fast bowling clinic in Berbice run by Curtly Ambrose.^[11]

Joseph was named as one of four uncapped players by the Guyana Harpy Eagles for the 55th edition of the Regional Four Day Competition and never played or represented Guyana at any level prior to his call-up for the first-class cricket tournament.^[16] He made his first-class debut for Guyana against Barbados on 1 February 2023 during the 2022–23 West Indies Championship.^[17][18] He took his first career five-wicket haul in first-class cricket against Windward Islands during the 2022–23 West Indies Championship and ended with figures of 5/41 in a spell bowling 12 overs.^[19][20]

He was initially brought in as a net bowler by the Guyana Amazon Warriors for the 2023 Caribbean Premier Leagueand made the 2023 Guyana Amazon Warriors squad as an injury replacement for Keemo Paul.^[21] During his maiden CPL stint, he met Prasanna Agoram, the talent scout for Guyana Amazon Warriors, who encouraged Joseph to take his cricket career seriously.^[11] Joseph made his T20 debut in a league stage match against Barbados Royals on 17 September 2023.^[22] Joseph was also one of the key members of the Guyana Amazon Warriors side, which emerged as 2023 champions in the Caribbean Premier League(CPL).^[23] Although he only played 2 matches in his 2023 maiden CPL Guyana Amazon Warriors stint, Joseph was remarkable in his ability to consistently deliver short-pitched deliveries at speeds exceeding 140 kph.

Joseph made his List A debut playing for Guyana against Barbados on 29 October 2023 during the 2023–24 Super50 Cup.^[24] He was included in Guyana's squad as an 11th hour injury replacement for Ronsford Beaton for the 2023-24 CG Insurance Super50 Cup.^[25][26] 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.^[27][28] He was impressive during the first-class series against the South African A side where he was the joint wicket-taker for the West Indies A side alongside Kevin Sinclair with 12 scalps.^[10]

International career

In December 2023, he was named as one of the seven uncapped players in the West Indies test squad for the tour of Australia in order to play two-match test series as part of the 2023–2025 ICC World Test Championship.^{[29][30][31][32]} He made his test debut at the Adelaide Oval on 17 January 2024 in the first test of the two match series against Australia.^[33] It was the first two spells that he bowled at the Karen Rolton Oval against the Cricket Australia XI side, warranted him a place in the first test match of the series against Australia as his bowling spells in the only tour match literally impressed the West Indies selectors.^[34][10]

He came in at number 11 position as a tailender on his test debut during the first innings of the West Indies on the morning session of the match and scored a valiant knock of 36 runs which came off just 41 deliveries.^[35] He also put on a crucial last wicket partnership worth 55 runs with senior statesman Kemar Roach to propel the West Indies to a respectable total of 188.^[36] Shamar was the last batsman to be dismissed during the West Indies first innings score of 188 when he was trapped leg before wicket by Nathan Lyon and he was the second highest runscorer behind Kirk McKenzie during West Indies first innings score.^[37] He also registered the highest individual score by a West Indian number 11 batsman on test debut with his knock of 36.^[38]

He eventually scored his first six in his first-class career on his test debut during the 56th over of the match when he knocked a Josh Hazlewood delivery into the stands.^[39] He also took a wicket off the very first delivery he bowled in his test career when he dismissed Australian opener Steve Smith cheaply for 12 runs.^{[40][41][42][43]} He also became only the second West Indies bowler ever to have taken a wicket off the first delivery bowled in test cricket after Tyrell Johnson when he provoked Smith to edge it to the fellow debutant Justin Greaves who completed the catch by diving forward taking a low, sharp catch at third slip.^[44][45] He also dismissed Marnus Labuschagne in the opening day of the match on his memorable debut test.^[46] On 18 January 2024, he took his first five-wicket haul in test cricket by doing so on his test debut.^[47]

See also

• List of West Indies cricketers who have taken five-wicket hauls on Test debut

References

External links

• Shamar Joseph at ESPNcricinfo