‘Remember the name’: The unlikely triumph of Guyana’s Shamar Joseph has brought joy to West Indies cricket fans · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Feature image of the West Indies Cricket flag via Canva Pro.
On January 28, sports headlines around the world were primarily focused on the history that had been made at the Brisbane Cricket Ground, fondly called The Gabba. On that Sunday, the West Indies cricket team secured its first test cricket victory in Australia since 1997, ending an arduous dry spell that had lasted those 27 years. They did it in style, too, grasping victory by a nail-biting eight runs — and bringing to an unexpected end a match in which most people thought the Aussies were a shoo-in:
✔️ First Test victory in Australia after 27 long years
✔️ First Test victory against Australia in 21 long years
✔️ First team to beat Australia in a Day/ Night Test
West Indies have successfully breached GABBA! 🏟️#AUSvWI #WestIndies #ShamarJoseph #Cricket #Sportskeeda pic.twitter.com/yXgXejcgtA
— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) January 28, 2024
How good is that, almost brings a tear to the eye. I don’t think there’ll be any Aussie cricket fans disappointed about losing this test #Windies
— Sam Phillips (@samtibbits) January 28, 2024
The player who helped pull off the feat — with an injured toe at that — was Shamar Joseph, a 24-year-old right-handed fast bowler, who took seven wickets and won the titles of Man of The Match and Player of the Series for his efforts:
“Take that pain…get the wickets” #ShamarJoseph what a team player.
Humble beginnings with lot of self belief character. 🙏🏼pic.twitter.com/3uLMjjO4CB
— Kumar Manish (@kumarmanish9) January 29, 2024
The moment of victory had cricket fans around the world spellbound…
West Indian Version of “Toota hai Gabba ka Ghamand” 🥵🙌🏻👏🏻
Shamar Joseph You Legend Take a bow 🙇‍♂️🫡 Crushed World Champion Australia in their Yard. #AUSvWI #ShamarJosephpic.twitter.com/IxvSNpfW40
— 🤍✍ (@imAnthoni_) January 28, 2024
… though no one celebrated as joyously as the team themselves:
The #1️⃣ Trending Cricket Moment in the world lives rent free in our minds.🙌🏾#AUSvWI #MaroonMagic #ShamarJoseph pic.twitter.com/snAJRWaWQb
— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) January 31, 2024
For many longstanding fans of the game, the moment was like a return to the glory days of West Indies cricket, when the team dominated the sport in the 1970s and '80s. The determination to excel back then was in some measure prompted by the aggressive playing style and hurtful taunts of the Australian side, which, decades ago, had racist undertones. This time, former Australian player Rodney Hogg calling the West Indies team “hopeless” and “pathetic” helped motivate Joseph and the rest of the team, infusing them with grit and passion, and leaving some to wonder whether they were witnessing a renaissance:
Brian Lara in tears.
Is this the resurgence of Windies Cricket again?
Shamar Joseph deserves more and more appreciation.#WIvsAUS#AUSvWI#ShamarJoseph #Gabbapic.twitter.com/5Qx33aPbS2
— Mr. Sarcastic (@Gyanicologist) January 28, 2024
I'm so pleased with the current form of our West Indies cricket. Hopefully, all stakeholders involved can maintain what's working, improve on needed areas and watch us bloom back to our glory days 🙌🏿#Cricket #MenInMaroon #Windies
— Trishana C. McGowan (@CelenaSports) January 30, 2024
I hope this victory is a sign of things to come, imagine how good test cricket would be if the #windies were a powerhouse again.
— Sin Nombre (@peterdavidwill1) January 28, 2024
Well played Shamar Joseph and the #Windies, breathing life back into West Indian cricket. Always a better game and a better spectacle when these guys are firing.
— Brian O'Donnell ⚓️ (@brianodonnell63) January 28, 2024
Goosebumps moment! The Great West Indians secure a phenomenal victory against #Australia at the #Gabba. #ShamarJoseph, what have you done ?
West Indians are back in grand style! #AUSvWI #GabbaTest pic.twitter.com/UAIricJgzP
— Wajahat Farooq Bhat (@Wajahatfarooqbt) January 28, 2024
Even the Australian commentators were drawn into the excitement of the moment:
West Indies Wins Always Bring So Much Joy 🔥
Well done #ShamarJoseph #AUSvWI pic.twitter.com/CkpkuOVfPg pic.twitter.com/8WEVLHnZ8c
— Bad Boss (@StoryTimeWithK) January 28, 2024
One X (formerly Twitter) user added:
How good is that, almost brings a tear to the eye. I don’t think there’ll be any Aussie cricket fans disappointed about losing this test #Windies
— Sam Phillips (@samtibbits) January 28, 2024
There was understandably a lot of praise for Joseph himself, as the hero of the match, with social media users calling him “a superstar,” a “deadset legend [and] joy to watch,” and “a king“. He certainly returned home to a hero's welcome, which included a Cricket West Indies (CWI) international retainer contract. He has also been signed by the Peshawar Zalmi, ahead of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024.
Joseph's success has only been made sweeter by the fact that he only made his first-class cricket debut for Guyana in February 2023, playing just a handful of home games before arriving in Australia. Most of all, though, his personal journey resonated with people throughout the region.
The young cricketer, who hails from Baracara, a remote village that is reportedly 225 kilometres by boat from the nearest town and was only able to access the internet in 2018, was never part of any formal cricket programme. Instead, he would use “anything that looked like a ball to play his cricket.” He worked, at different times, as a logger, a labourer, and a security guard, but ultimately decided to focus on cricket — and in so doing, inspired many young West Indians to believe in themselves and pursue their own dreams.
Trinidadian Facebook user Rubadiri Victor used Joseph's success as an example to ask how many other young men with talent are being overlooked: “How many Boys have we marginalized who can be our Saviours?”
In an era when Twenty20 (T20) cricket (a short format version of the game) has been capturing the interest of fans, the win also generated a renewed interest in test cricket, where matches go on for days at a time, but often deliver incredible victories rooted in clever strategy and unshakeable resilience:
Test cricket at its best. Congratulations #Windies
— Sandhu (@SandhUTD) January 28, 2024
Stunning Performance from #Windies in #GabbaTest 🔥
Test Cricket is an Emotion ♥️@windiescricket @BrianLara #AUSvWI #TestCricket pic.twitter.com/ndzzCfTlyW
— CBMCRICKET (@CBMCRICKET) January 28, 2024
Test cricket is the Mother of all the cricket leagues and all the world cups.#ShamarJoseph #TestCricket pic.twitter.com/IIPzBPeWV3
— Ali Umair Shahbaz (@aliumairshahbaz) January 30, 2024
Trinidadian academic Amílcar Presi Sanatan mused, “For years I have had to put up with people (my age) telling me how much test cricket is a waste of time. Hello, you could be T20 champions for the rest of your life. Okay … Test cricket? A test match and test series are the true tests of a man/woman🏏. A serious cricketing nation takes test cricket seriously. I really hope we continue our financial, talent and market investment in WI test cricket.”
In the end, there were only a couple of things left to say:
“Shamar Joseph” Remember the Name. Joseph led West Indies to a Test victory in Australia after twenty-seven years.
WHAT A WIN it has been🔥fire 🔥 😍 👏 #AUSvWI #ShamarJoseph #INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/duKRZzAD3b
— CURIOUS (@OUTOFCHARACTERT) January 28, 2024
Best thing to happen to international test cricket in 25 years! #windies
— James Macfarlane (@jmacmelb) January 28, 2024