DUBAI: West Indies pace prodigy Shamar Joseph continued to make a name for himself on the global stage as he was voted the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Player of the Month for January 2024.
Joseph, who rose to fame during West Indies’ historic Test victory over Australia in January, beat out stiff competition from England’s Ollie Pope and Australia’s Josh Hazlewood to claim the first Men’s monthly award for the new calendar year.
Joseph made his mark on debut in the first Test against Australias as the 24-year-old claimed the prized wicket of the world’s No.2 ranked batter Steve Smith on his very first delivery.
He picked up another four wickets on his way to sensational figures of 5-94 in his first Test appearance in Adelaide and backed up this effort with decent scores of 36 and 15 coming into bat for his side at No.11.
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But it was the Brisbane Test where he produced an even better performance and played a pivotal role in West Indies’ upset nine-run victory over Australia, their first 27 years.
Shamar Joseph, who was forced to retire hurt from a toe-crushing Mitchell Starc yorker the previous evening, bounced back to claim six wickets in a session and 7-68 overall to lift West Indies to their first test win Down Under since 1997, as Australia were bowled out for 207 in pursuit of 216.
His heroics earned him the Pakistan Super League (PSL) deal with former champions Peshawar Zalmi, who roped in the pacer as the partial replacement of England’s Gus Atkinson for the upcoming ninth edition.