The opening day of the first Test between Australia and West Indies at Kensington Oval, Barbados, has produced high drama, not just on the field. West Indian fast bowler Shamar Joseph has made headlines again- not just for his destructive bowling spell – but for giving former Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy back his words back earlier in the week with poor timing.
Healy is one of Australia’s reliable girl voices around the game of cricket, but Healy took aim at Joseph’s comments before this match, but after day one, it was evident who was actually laughing in the dressing room.
The Pre-Match Reminder: Ian Healy Questions Shamar’s Form
Minutes before the Test, Shamar Joseph made a bold statement towards the 19-year-old debutant for Australia Sam Konstas, by saying ‘Look Out’ as the Windies were ready to turn the shoulders on their fast bowling department. That set Ian Healy off the deep end.
On SEN Radio, Healy responded;
“OK Shamar, well you’ve delivered crap all year… So he better improve, that’s what I’m saying. He has real trouble, and you’re not Curtly Ambrose, champ.”
Healy went onto say that Joseph was awful since his heroic effort at the Gabba in January 2024 – “He’s had a terrible year”, adding that Joseph’s comments were ahead of a player that had not demonstrated this consistency.
Joseph gives Penny for Your Thoughts on the Field
If Healy’s comments were trying to put Joseph under a little pressure, well the young quick couldn’t have responded better to the best a cricketer can – through performance.
With venomous pace, deviation and great poise, Shamar Joseph tore through the Australian top order, taking 4 wickets for just 46 runs at a lively Kensington Oval pitch. He accounted for an LBW Sam Konstas (3) and then literally rolled through Cameron Green, Usman Khawaja and Beau Webster, which clearly made up 4 of the top 5 batters in the Australian batting order.
His spell was a masterclass of aggressive fast bowling, with deviation both ways, and at times, bowling rhythm looked hauntingly similar to a few West Indies pace festivals of yesteryear.
Ian Healy Statement Proven Wrong.
As sport, including cricket, has a tendency to show a critic in absolutes that they were wrong. That occurred in the manner Joseph did.
Funny isn’t it, the same Sam Konstas Joseph mentioned was out for just 3 runs.
Cameron Green under more and more pressure than he has been after the poor WTC Final, could not endure any more of Josephs probing line of bowling, and nicked one to slip.
Usman Khawaja was the elder statesman of the group, played a couple of shots but succumbed to seam movements craft.
The dismissal of Beau Webster capped off a dominant first two sessions for Joseph.
The Ian Healy “you’re not Curtly Ambrose” had become stale within 3 hours. Joseph may not be Ambrose – but on Day 1 of a Test in Barbados he was everything Australia feared.
Australia’s Batting Problems Reign Supreme
A poor total from Australia of 180 all out. Aside from Khawaja (47) and Travis Head (44) numbers all wilted under pressure again.
There was junk runs added from Pat Cummins, but that only mask what was yet again a top order failure.
The gamble to jiggle the batting order – with Cameron Green at No. 3 and Josh Inglis at 4, raised eyebrows. Again, some were arguing that the selection of some of these players was based on reputation and not on role, and Day 1 was weighted for this possibility.
Jayden Seales Joins the Fun
Joseph, rightfully, should’ve taken all the praise, but Jayden Seales put in a terrific shift too, taking 5 wickets for 60 runs. The young right-armer backed up Joseph perfectly, helping to ensure that Australia never got a solid foothold in the innings.
Joseph and Seales took 9 of the 10 Australian wickets, making it very clear that the West Indies’ pace attack is still an actual problem, even without the legends of the past.
Australia Fight Back, but West Indies Have Edge
Credit to Australia, they bowled well, too. At stumps, the West Indies were at 57/4 with Cummins and Hazlewood knocking a couple of early wickets. However, ultimately, the day belonged to the visitors, and as we’ve seen in the past, a third innings collapse from Australia could mean the West Indies could chase an achievable target in the fourth innings later on.
The Australians know what Joseph is capable of. After his 7/68 at the Gabba earlier in 2024, his fierce spell in Barbados was also a timely reminder, when underestimated, he is a dangerous player.
Lessons for Australia
Respect your opposition: The way Joseph clearly, relished the pre-match criticism, proves that when you underestimate opposition players, particularly those that have produced records themselves, it can blow up in your face.
Selection strategy under scrutiny: Backing Green at 3 and multiple very new players to the country, seems a big risk now. Australia’s lack of situational planning could end up costing them in WTC campaign with the longer term in mind.
Mental resilience needed: The Australians need to bounce back quickly. A bad start to the WTC cycle, can have both rational and irrational impact, as they’ve experienced in earlier campaign strings.
Conclusion
Cricket is spectacular for comebacks and you don’t need to do much better than Shamar Joseph’s performance against Australia. After being written off by Ian Healy, Joseph went out and let the ball do the talking—and how spectacular it was.
There is no doubt that Healy’s comments were meant to fire-up Joseph, but all he did was stoke a fire on what must have been a fiery, burning desire for the West Indian pacer to make a statement. Very early in the series, Joseph’s comeback story is not finished—and Australia shouldn’t be hasty to close the book too soon.
