West Indies sensation Shamar Joseph has won the ICC Men’s Player of the Month Award for January 2024, the ICC announced on Tuesday (February 13). Apart from him, England’s Ollie Pope and Australia’s Josh Hazlewood were nominated for the award.
However, Shamar Joseph’s stunning start in international cricket saw him beat the competition from Pope and Hazlewood to win the award. It took the West Indies star just two Tests to mark his arrival in international cricket. He impressed with the ball as well as bat as West Indies won the second Test and drew the two-match series.
Shamar Joseph shines in Australia:
Shamar Joseph began his Test career by taking the wicket of Steve Smith on his very first delivery in red-ball cricket. He went on to finish his maiden Test innings with impressive figures of 5 for 94. After impressing with the ball, he registered scores of 36 and 15 with the bat although his side ended up losing the Test.
And in the following Test, he went on to better his performance and powered West Indies to a monumental win in Brisbane. It was West Indies’ first win in Australia since 1997. Shamar Joseph’s participation in the second innings of the game looked highly doubtful after being hit on the toe by a crushing yorker from Mitchell Starc.
However, he decided to battle pain and play for his side on day four of the Test. Shamar Joseph went on to deliver one of the best spells in Test cricket, taking 7 wickets for just 68 runs to help his side register a thrilling 8-run win.
He is currently sidelined with the toe injury. While he was set to play in ILT20 after the Test series against Australia, the toe injury ruled him out of action. The right-arm pacer is set to be seen in action next month when he plies his trade for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2024. The IPL franchise has signed him up as an replacement for Mark Wood.
