Pat Cummins showered rich praise on young pacer Shamar Joseph, who delivered a sensational spell to script West Indies’ historic eight-run victory over Australia in the Gabba Test on Sunday (January 28).
Joseph defied a sleepless night after his toe was crushed by a Mitchell Starc yorker to return with the figures of 7/68 in Australia’s second innings.
It was his debut Test series and he bagged a total of 13 wickets across the two matches to earn the Player-of-the-Series award.
Joseph bowled his heart out in such a way that the Australian captain Cummins also doffed his hat.
“We all debuted at one point. He is starting his Test cricket and he has had a hell of a start. He is very excited and he should be excited for a long time after such performance. Its great to see the young talent like that. He bowled the house down,” Cummins said in the post-match presentation.
“They outplayed us, they played brilliantly. There was a lot of the talk coming in about their debutants … but they’ve created a couple of new superstars we didn’t know about.
“As a cricket fan, a Test match cricket fan, there’s a part of me that was happy to watch,” he added.
In a heartwarming gesture, Pat Cummins also swapped jersey with Shamar Joseph after the Brisbane Test and posted it on Instagram.
“Helluva debut series @shamarjoseph7. Already a superstar, well played,” Cummins captioned the picture.
Chasing 216 to win, the Aussies were placed at 113/2, needing 103 more runs with eight wickets in hand to complete a 2-0 series sweep.
However, Joseph bowled an incredible 10-over spell in the first session on Day 4 to change the course of the match, dismissing Cameron Green (42), Travis Head (0), Mitchell Marsh (10), Alex Carey (2), Mitchell Starc (21) and Pat Cummins (2).
Josh Hazlewood was his last victim as it was this wicket that ensured West Indies’ first Test win on Australian soil since 1997.
Cummins was in awe of Joseph’s courage to bowl that long spell after taking a heavy blow on his toe a day earlier.
“He had taken a big blow last night and he just knew that nothing is going to stop him from bowling. That’s just raw, someone who is just looking to bowl fast and take wickets. As a cricket fan, it is great to see,” the Australian captain said.
“He bowled in the high 140s. Bowl after bowl he pitched it up and mixed it with short ones. I am sure we will be seeing a lot of him,” he further stated.
