Cricketing fans witnessed two great test matches on the same day. One which happened in India, and the other one which happened at the Australian fortress Gabba. And on both the occasions, the home team suffered defeats in closely contested encounters. England rejoiced their heroes Ollie Pope and Tom Hartley, who helped them in the win. And rest of the world rejoiced and applauded Shamar Joseph, for his exceptional display of fast bowling which helped West Indies register their test victory on the Australian soil after a whopping 27 years.

A test match which will be remembered for a long time period by cricketing world, found West Indies emerge victorious at the Gabba. After India, West Indies became the only 2nd team to breach Gabba in the past 35 years. And more importantly, the victory came for the Caribbeans at a time, when they were about to witness their downfall. Adrenaline was pumped and emotions went high, as one saw a teary-eyed Brian Lara shedding tears of joy to see his country leaving their mark in test cricket again. As the team rejoiced, the world was left in admiration of Shamar Joseph, who pioneered the historic victory for his team.

For most of the fans, his name was unheard of. But not anymore, as his tale full of struggles and unbelievable dedication to the game stormed the internet quicker than his quick bouncers which thwarted the existence of Aussie batters. And truly so, as his exponential graph of career will soar newer heights, his story will become the one inspiring millions to take up the game, in spite of a thousand odds coming their way. His bowling demonstrates the raw pace which West Indies boasted once, and similarly his story connects the world with the raw Caribbean roots.

Born and brought up in a remote Caribbean village, his place was far away from the outer evolving world. To reach Baracara it took 2 days by a boat from its nearest town. Internet reached the village for the first time in 2018, and only one household had one black and white television. But that one television was sufficient enough to fuel the dreams of a young Shamar, who dreamt of playing the game just like his idols Courtney Walsh and Curtley Ambrose. With almost no facilities, he initially just played tape ball cricket, in which he excelled greatly.

His dreams were big, but more huge was the responsibility on his young shoulders to be one of the bread winners for his family. He used to cut timber and sell it to New Amsterdam. Jungles were like his home. And one day, when he was returning home after collecting timber, a tree fell down very close to him. Fortunately he was safe, but the threat of the falling trees engulfed his mind greatly, and hence he decided to move to a city in pursuit of livelihood. Maybe the fallen tree was a nature's signal to the young boy to go ahead in his life, without looking back.

In city, there was no risk of falling trees, but life was still full of struggles. In spite of tremendous passion for the game, the pursuit of hunger eventually sought him to work as a labourer at a construction site. After a while, the job of a labourer transformed into the job of a watchman. 12 hour work and night shifts heavily affected his duration spent for the game, but he continued to pursue the same. And one fine day, his neighbour and a current Caribbean cricketer Romario Shepherd spotted this young skinny man bowling exceptionally well in a local tournament.

Shepherd's watchful eyes on the watchman of a construction site, and Shamar's fiance's support helped him take a risky yet important decision to quit the job and focus on the game which he wholeheartedly loved. And once he focused on cricket, he never looked back. Shepherd referred him to a coach who was instantly impressed by Joseph. With time, he progressed to play for Guyana domestic team, he played as a net bowler in Guyana Amazon Warriors and then as a player for the same team. After a series of victorious campaigns and successful performances, it was only a matter of time when he was selected for the West Indian senior side.

And when it happened, he immediately made the world take notice of him by dismissing Steve Smith on the very first delivery he bowled at the international level. He then went on to grab a five-wicket haul in the same match which happened at Adelaide. Breaking a flurry of records(and stumps) he announced his arrival in test cricket. And today, in spite of an injured and crushed toe, he bowled his heart out to crush the Australian hopes of victory in a nail biter, scalping 7 wickets in the last innings at Australian fortress Gabba. He showed that for someone who has had so many struggles in life, bowling with an injured toe was a relatively easier task.

In this series, West Indies found a ray of hope in the form of Shamar Joseph. His heroics helped the Carribbeans pull off their first test victory in Australia in the last 27 years. His heroics and the victory came for West Indies just at the right time. The downfall of West Indies in test cricket was evident. The team which once ruled the grandest stage of cricket, not able to qualify for the world cup was already haunting them. And the fans hoped for something miraculous to happen to revive the game in the islands. And like a miracle came Shamar Joseph, who carried his team to a victory.

His victory lap after after the last Australian wicket, saw pure emotions oozing out of the Caribbean players. Shamar's victory run was the run of every native Caribbean, who aspires to dream big and work hard for it. And likewise will be his story. Shamar reminded the world of the sheer pace and lethal bowlers the islands once possessed and which the batters dreaded. And like a phoenix who rises from the ashes, he rose from the native Carribbean islands to yet again remind the world what true West Indians seamers are. A story for generations to tell, his tale will always be of unwavering dedication and unbelievable passion. On this day, we congratulate him and wish to see him lit up the international stage with the strength in his arms.