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Shamar Joseph has gone from a remote Guyanese villager to claiming the wickets of two of the world’s best batsmen in double-quick time.
Joseph on Wednesday capped one of Test cricket’s most meteoric and unique rises in only the West Indian quick’s 10th professional match.
Less than a year on from his first elite match after being spotted while he was still a security guard, Joseph claimed figures of 2-18 on Test debut to make an immediate impact.
The 24-year-old became the only player in history to dismiss Steve Smith with his first ball in Test cricket before also sealing Marnus Labuschagne’s fate late.
His wickets came after he had belted 36 with the bat, while walking in at No.11 and helping West Indies to 188, before Australia went to stumps on 2-59.
Joseph’s twin blows are only a small part of the 24-year-old’s incredible story.
Not long ago he was using limes, lemons and guavas as cricket balls in his river village of Baracara, which is a six-hour boat ride from the nearest town.
Such is its remoteness, the internet didn’t arrive in Baracara until October 2018.
By then Smith had amassed 22 Test centuries.
On Wednesday though, Joseph was not only on the same pitch as Smith but snared his wicket with the first ball he bowled when he had him caught at slip.
The dismissal made him only the 23rd player in Test history to take a wicket with his first ball.
He later set up Labuschagne with a short ball, getting the right-hander caught on the boundary late in the day.
Every now and then there were reminders of Joseph’s rawness.
He lost his run-up a number of times and had the ball slip out of his hand twice and it eventually rolled down the pitch.
But it barely fazed the right-armer, who never lost his rhythm amongst all of that.
It was similar with the bat.
One week after going unnoticed when he visited a cricket store in Adelaide to buy an arm guard to protect himself from Pat Cummins, Joseph was the one launching the counterattack.
He survived a tough early examination from the Australian captain before hitting fellow quick Josh Hazlewood for a six and two fours, helping to add 55 for the last wicket.
It’s hard to imagine the Guyanese villager remaining anonymous now.
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