St John's [Antigua], June 23 : Ahead of his side's first Test against Australia, West Indies pacer Shamar Joseph, who shot to fame after his seven-wicket haul in a winning cause at Brisbane against ex-World Test Champions with a toe injury, said that a lot have changed for him since that match and now he aims for more, especially getting the wicket of young, audacious Aussie opener Sam Konstas.
West Indies, who denied Australia an easy series win at home last year, ended it in a draw by leaving them eight runs short of a chase of 216 runs. Shamar was the star of the show, taking 7/68, including a wicket of Steve Smith in the series. He ended the tour with a total of 13 wickets in two matches and took home the 'Player of the Series' award. This was Australia's first loss to the Windies at home since 1997.
Speaking ahead of the first Test from June 25 onwards at Barbados, Joseph said as quoted by Sydney Morning Herald, "To take 13 wickets across the series was a good feeling. A lot has changed. There were a lot of opportunities that came my way."
"There was a big welcome by fellow Guyanese people and all over the Caribbean. Everywhere I go, there are a lot of congratulations and a lot of love has been shown towards me because of my achievement. Not just my achievement, but West Indies cricket overall. It has been a while since we have done something great against Australia," he added.
Joseph returned home to his remote riverside Guyanese village of Baracara before landing an Indian Premier League (IPL) deal with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), playing a game last year but not getting a wicket. Since then, he has played a total of eight Tests with 29 wickets at an average of 26.75, with three five-wicket hauls.
If selected, Joseph is eager to test himself once again against Aussies, including their 19-year-old sensation Konstas, who made headlines with a brilliant takedown of Jasprit Bumrah during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Melbourne last year.
On whether Konstas would try to attempt a ramp shot against him, Joseph said, "Well, that is up to him. I will do my part."
"I think my pace will be back to normal again. I am looking to put the ball in my areas, and I am up for the challenge.
"I actually saw him [Konstas] against India playing his shots. It was encouraging him coming out as a youngster, making his debut with that confidence. I just want to stay focused," he continued.
Joseph also spoke on his conversations with Aussie skipper Pat Cummins, who still exchanges messages with him after meeting him during the IPL.
"He just encouraged me to keep doing the hard work," Joseph says. "He said to remember what I did to get here and keep doing the best I can," he added.
Joseph feels that his team can deliver a fine performance against the Aussies in the matches that will be played in Barbados, Grenada and Jamaica.
"There's a lot of confidence. We work as a team to be successful," Joseph says.
"It is a critical series for us because it is in our backyard. We do not want to play catch-up. We want to win the first Test match. We want to use our home advantage as much as we can," he concluded.
First Test: June 25-29, Bridgetown, Barbados (midnight AEST)
Second Test: July 3-7, St George's, Grenada (midnight AEST)
Third Test: July 12-16, Kingston, Jamaica (4.30 am AEST)
Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster
West Indies Test squad: Roston Chase (c), Jomel Warrican (vc), Kevlon Anderson, Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Keacy Carty, Justin Greaves, Shai Hope, Tevin Imlach, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Johann Layne, Mikyle Louis, Anderson Phillip, Jayden Seales.
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