Shamar Joseph bowls us away

THE TEARS of joy that flowed on Sunday after Shamar Joseph, 24, took a seventh wicket to secure victory for the West Indies in Australia reflected the immense magnitude of the moment.

This was not just a single win in a Test cricket series. It was the reaffirmation of a dream and the wider hopes of a region.

When Mr Joseph made his Test cricket debut mere weeks ago Down Under, it was clear the world was in store for something special. He took a wicket off the very first ball he delivered in his Test career, dismissing Steve Smith for 12.

In the long history of Test cricket, only 22 others have done this, and only one other from the Windies. He went on to take a five-wicket haul, another rarity for debuts.

But he followed this up on Sunday in spectacular fashion, taking seven wickets for 68 runs at The Gabba, Brisbane, pushing the West Indies to an eight-run victory and ensuring a drawn two-match series. Given the recent history of the regional side, this alone would be cause for celebration. But the fact that the team beat the Australians on their home turf was astonishing.

To put it in perspective: the last time the West Indies won a match Down Under, Mr Joseph was not yet born. That match, in Perth in 1997, saw Brian Lara (whose eyes brimmed with tears of pride as he observed Sunday’s developments) score a century and Curtly Ambrose, who hosted the cricket camp in which Mr Joseph was discovered, win player of the match. It was another era.

If this victory and Mr Joseph’s stellar rise are already remarkable stories, they are made even more so by the fact that they almost did not happen.

The fast bowler did not plan to play on Sunday, having hobbled off in tears 24 hours earlier due to an injury while batting.

And 18 months ago, he was not even a full-time cricketer, working as a security guard to make ends meet.

Hailing from a small town in Guyana few have ever heard of, he grew up using fruit and plastic bottles as cricket balls.

It thus took two sets of faith to pave the way for Sunday: the faith of an individual in his dream; and the faith of gatekeepers in a position to support talent.

This is why Mr Joseph’s success is being celebrated well beyond the pitch.

Undeniably, these are good times for West Indies cricket.

On Thursday, plans were announced for gender-pay equity by 2027, which will encourage more people to gravitate to the game.

Now, with newly discovered talents like Mr Joseph delivering the goods, it is tantalising to wonder how much untapped talent is out there just waiting to be found.