Shamar’s blast from the past

It took Shamar Joseph 71 deliveries and seven wickets to move Brian Lara to tears.

Yesterday afternoon in Brisbane, on the fourth day of the second Test between Australia and the West Indies, Shamar turned back the clock a few decades, to the days when Caribbean pacers used to rule Test cricket and evoke fear in the hearts of batters.

The right-arm pacer bowled an 11.5-over-long spell where he was quick, unrelenting, not bothered about getting hit for boundaries and undeterred in his pursuit of wickets.

He beat the Aussie batters with his sheer pace, made the ball zip from a good length, snuck it below the bat at times with pitch-perfect yorkers and did all that with an injured toe.

Shamar, who was playing his second ever Test, claimed seven out of the eight wickets to fall as Australia fell nine short of a 216-run target and the West Indies tasted their first Test win on Australian soil in 27 years.

Lara, who had hit a tremendous 132 in West Indies' previous away Test win in Australia in Perth way back in 1997, was in the commentary box when Shamar uprooted Josh Hazelwood's stumps to complete the victory and couldn't hold back the tears.

"It's unbelievable! 27 years to beat Australia in Australia! Young, inexperienced, written off this West Indies team can stand tall today, West Indies cricket can stand tall today!" an overjoyed Lara said while commentating for Fox Sports.

This incredible victory, one that's sure to be remembered for many years, was not supposed to happen.

Shamar, who was born three years after West Indies last won a Test in Australia, was hurt on the right foot by a searing delivery from Mitchell Starc while batting on the third day and had to take a pain injection to bowl yesterday.

In a broader sense, Shamar, a logger turned security guard turned cricketer from Guyana, had no business playing Test cricket for the West Indies after playing his maiden first-class match in February last year.

He was one of seven uncapped players in the West Indies squad selected for the two-Test series in Australia, a side that was compared to 'lambs for slaughter' by Caribbean cricketer Jeffrey Dujon and called 'pathetic' and 'hopeless' by former Australian pacer Rodney Hogg.

These sly comments lit a fire in the West Indies team, which was apparent from captain kraigg Brathwaite's comments after the match.

"Mr. Rodney Hogg said that we were 'pathetic' and 'hopeless'. That was our inspiration. We wanted to show the world we are not pathetic."

Shamar's heroics against Australia has captured the imagination of all and in this age of franchise Twenty20 leagues, teams with bags of money are almost certain to chase after him in the near future.

Ironically, Caribbean players leaving the red-ball format in hordes to ply their trade in T20 leagues is one of the main reasons why Shamar got fast-tracked into the Test side.

Shamar, however, declared that he will never abandon Tests for the glitz and purse of T20s.

"I will always be available to play for the West Indies, no matter how much money it takes or comes towards me," he said.

The defeat ended Australia's 14-match unbeaten streak in home Tests, still, Aussie skipper Pat Cummins was not too miffed by it, saying, "As a Test match cricket fan, there's a part of me that's happy."

This joy stemmed from seeing the once mighty Caribbeans returning to their previous glory, even if it ends up being just another flash in the pan. Overall, it was a day that reminded everyone of the undying charm of Test cricket, a format which refuses to perish into oblivion no matter how many times its obituary is written, much like West Indies cricket.