Shamar Joseph Age, Girlfriend, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Shamar Joseph

• He grew up in the remote Guyanese village of Baracara with no internet access or telephone connections. The town is so remote that only accessible by water, a two-hour boat ride on the Canje River from the port city of New Amsterdam.

• Joseph developed an interest in cricket at a young age. As a kid, he carried a piece of wood everywhere he went and used it as his bat.

• In Baracara, Joseph would bowl with tape balls and fruits such as lemons, limes, guavas, and peaches. They would call it “jungle-land cricket.”

• Sometimes, they even melt the plastic from bottles and turn it into a ball.

• Growing up, he was inspired by Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, opening bowlers of the West Indies cricket team, and tried to copy them in his tape ball games.

• His parents strictly followed the theology of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and did not allow Joseph to play on weekends, which was strictly for the Church.

• His family runs a logging business. Joseph and his siblings would chop trees in the Baracara and transport the wood down the Canje River to New Amsterdam.

• One day, a tree fell and narrowly missed hitting Joseph. After that, he decided to quit the risky logging business and moved to New Amsterdam with his girlfriend Trishana in search of a job.

• He secured a job at a construction company, but as he was scared of heights, he ended up working as a labourer there.

• Then, he worked as a security guard at Amalgamated Security Services at Scotiabank in New Amsterdam.

• Shamar was friends with Guyanese cricketer Romario Shepherd, who also hails from Baracara. Joseph used to live next door to Shepherd. They would play in Shepherd’s backyard. Shepherd later introduced Joseph to Guyana national head coach Esuan Crandon.

• Joseph trained with the national players briefly and then made an impression recording debut figures of 6/13 in Division 1 cricket.

• In 2022, Shamar Joseph caught the attention of Tucber Park Cricket Club in New Amsterdam at a fast-bowling camp conducted by the Berbice Cricket Board and Curtly Ambrose. After that, he started playing for the club.
  

  Shamar Joseph playing for Tucber Park Cricket Club in New Amsterdam in Berbice in 2022

• The 12-hour-long shifts as a security guard gave Joseph no time to play cricket. Therefore, with the support of his fiancée, he quit his job and gave cricket a full-fledged go.

• When Joseph was 14, former cricketers Damion Vantull and Royston Crandon visited Baracara to play a match. Joseph and Vantull stayed in touch after that. Vantull gave financial support to Joseph when he left the security guard job. He also gave Joseph his apartment to live in Georgetown. Joseph bought his first-ever cricket with the money Vantull gave him.

• Joseph took eight wickets in a trial game, which earned him a first call-up to the Guyana team.

• He also played club cricket for the Muslim Youth Organisation (MYO) Sports Club in Georgetown.

• He was one of the four uncapped players selected by the Guyana Harpy Eagles for the 2022–23 West Indies Championship, the 55th edition of the Regional Four-Day Competition.

• On 1 February 2023, he made his first-class cricket debut for Guyana against Barbados at North Sound at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
  

  Guyana Harpy Eagles player Shamar Joseph

• During the 2022–23 West Indies Championship, he took his first five-wicket haul in first-class cricket with figures of 5/41 against the Windward Islands

• Joseph was named the temporary replacement for injured Keemo Paul in Guyana Amazon Warriors for the 2023 Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

• On 17 September 2023, he made his T20 debut for Guyana Amazon Warriors against Barbados Royals at Providence Stadium, Guyana.

• Joseph played only 2 matches in the 2023 CPL. However, he impressed the audience with his short-pitched deliveries at speeds exceeding 140 kph.

• Guyana Amazon Warriors went on to win the 2023 CPL defeating Trinbago Knight Riders by 9 wickets in the final.

• During his CPL stint, Joseph met Prasanna Agoram, who is the talent scout for Guyana Amazon Warriors. Joseph fondly calls Agoram his “father and mother.”

• On 29 October 2023, he made his List A debut for Guyana against Barbados at Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground, St Augustine during the 2023–24 Super50 Cup. He was included in Guyana’s squad as an injury replacement for Ronsford Beaton.

• In November 2023, he was named in the West Indies A squad for their tour of South Africa to play against the South African A side in a three-match first-class series.

• In December 2023, Joseph was named among the seven uncapped players in the West Indies test squad for the tour of Australia as part of the 2023–2025 ICC World Test Championship.

• He scored 36 runs off 41 deliveries in his test debut against Australia, the highest score by a West Indies No. 11 batsman on test debut.

• Joseph rose to popularity by claiming a wicket off the first delivery he bowled in his test career, dismissing Australian opener Steve Smith for 12 runs. Joseph became only the second West Indies bowler to achieve the feat after Tyrell Johnson.

• He also dismissed Marnus Labuschagne in the match.

• He became the tenth cricketer from the West Indies to take a five-wicket haul on his test debut.

• With the feats, he became the second bowler in the history of test cricket after Nathan Lyon to take a wicket off the first ball and a five-wicket haul on his test debut in his maiden innings.

• Joseph also became the first West Indies player to achieve the unique distinction of scoring over 50 runs and taking a five-wicket haul on his test debut.

• West Indies lost the first match by ten wickets, but Joseph’s impressive performance made him a fan favourite.

• During the second innings of the West Indies side, Joseph got injured while batting when a delivery from Mitchell Starc hit his toe.
  

  Shamar Joseph being carried off the field hurt with a damaged toe following a blow from a Mitchell Starc yorker on the fourth day at the Gabba

• On 28 January 2024, he took 7 wickets for 68 runs, helping West Indies to win the second test match against Australia by a margin of eight runs. This was West Indies’ first win in Australia in Test cricket since 1997. Joseph bowled Josh Hazlewood, the final wicket of the match.

THE SHAMAR JOSEPH SPELL OF 7/68 AT THE GABBA…!!! 🔥

– Proper gun bowling by Shamar even with an injured toe. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/30CRB4Y4vC

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) January 28, 2024

• Joseph picked up 13 wickets in the series and received the Player of the Series award for his bowling performances.
  

  Shamar Joseph after winning the Player of the Series Award during West Indies tour of Australia 2024

• In February 2024, West Indies rewarded Shamar Joseph with an international retainer contract following his performances against Australia in the test series.

• Shamar Joseph was signed by Dubai Capitals for ILT20, but he was ruled out due to the toe injury he suffered during the Gabba Test.

• In January 2024, he was bought by Peshawar Zalmi for the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL) as a partial replacement for Gus Atkinson.

• In February 2024, he was bought by Lucknow Super Giants for Rs. 3 crores as a replacement for Mark Wood for the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL).

• He went on to bowl one of the longest overs (10 balls) in IPL history on his debut against Kolkata Knight Riders.
  

  Shamar Joseph bowling against KKR on his IPL debut