Shamar Joseph inspires first West Indies win in Australia for 27 years

A defiant, unbeaten 91 from Steve Smith could not stop an injured Shamar Joseph bowling the West Indies to a dramatic eight-run victory at the Gabba with a seven-wicket haul in just his second Test.

Joseph flattened Josh Hazlewood’s off stump midway through day four to finish with 7/68 and level the series at one all after Australia were bowled out for 207 chasing 216 for a clean sweep of the summer after beating Pakistan 3-0.

Joseph had not planned to come to the Gabba on Sunday after he had to be helped from the ground on Saturday night. Struck a painful blow on the big toe by a Mitchell Starc yorker, he retired hurt as the last batsman, ending the West Indies’ innings.

“The pain I’m going through with my toe is not the best so cheers to my teammates and the supporters out here,” Joseph said. “I wasn’t even coming to the ground but our doctor told me to come to the ground for a reason. He did something to my toe, I don’t know what he did, but it worked. So I had the chance to go out there and bowl and bring this game home for my team.”

West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite took particular aim at former Australian fast bowler Rodney Hogg after the match.

“He said we were pathetic and hopeless so that was our motivation. I want to ask him, ‘are these muscles big enough for you?’” Brathwaite said.

Shamar Joseph celebrates the wicket of Australian captain Pat Cummins.Credit: Getty

Former West Indies player turned commentator Carl Hooper was crying in the back of the ABC commentary box when the West Indies achieved victory.

As a recently installed opening batsman, Smith was the first Australian to carry his bat since the man he replaced, David Warner, during his second Test in December 2011. It was Smith’s highest score in 16 innings since his century during the Ashes at Lord’s in late June.

It was the West Indies’ first victory in Australia for 27 years. That was in Perth during February 1997 when Brian Lara was at No.4 and the pace attack was Curtly Ambrose, Ian Bishop and Courtney Walsh.

Joseph arrived at the bowling crease 10 overs into day four and once he found his radar changed the game, finding extra pace to be delivering balls at up to 149km/h then limping back to his mark to charge in again. Cameron Green took three fours off Joseph’s first 10 balls: a slice over third slip, a glorious cover drive and a well-controlled cut.

Steve Smith trudges off the Gabba unbeaten on 91.Credit: Getty

But the 11th ball bounced more than Green expected, hit him on the bottom of the right arm defending, and deflected down into the stumps when on 42. It was an unexpected dismissal when Green and Smith appeared to be taking Australia to safety with a partnership which suddenly ended on 71 with 103 still needed for victory.

Green had spent a nervous half-hour settling in with the expectation of justifying his recall hanging over the tall right-hander after managing just 14 in Adelaide and 8 in the first innings at the Gabba.

The arrival of Travis Head brought with it the possibility of a quick finish, but instead it resulted in a quick departure, bowled by a yorker first ball. After a first ball dismissal in the first innings Head became the seventh Australian batsman to collect a king pair in Test cricket and the first since Ryan Harris against England in 2010/11.

Mitchell Marsh whacked a couple of boundaries but on 10 was undone by the extra bounce generated by Joseph, edging to Alick Athanaze at second slip, who juggled the ball. It popped out to third slip where Justin Greaves completed the catch.

Shamar Joseph celebrates Alex Carey’s scalp.Credit: Getty

Alex Carey flowed in the first innings, making 65 in just 49 balls, but he lasted just five deliveries on Sunday, beaten for pace and bowled by Joseph for two. Not for the first time in this action-packed year, the bowlers were asked to finish what the batsmen could not.

With 80 still required for victory and the Test swinging dramatically in the West Indies’ favour, Mitchell Starc arrived with intent, hammering drives past mid-on and mid-off to the boundary on the way to 21. The target had been reduced to 45 when he too was beaten by Shamar’s pace, skying a big swing to give Joseph five wickets in an innings during each of his first two Tests.

As the strong and steady leader he is proving to be, Pat Cummins has made some memorable contributions with the bat, going back to his first Test in Johannesburg more than 12 years ago, when he hit the winning runs as a teenager.

He ensured Australia scrambled home in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston last June, held on for Glenn Maxwell to score his extraordinary double century as Australia scored an impossible victory over Afghanistan in the World Cup, and made Australia competitive in this Test with an unbeaten 64 during the first innings.

However, another heroic performance was too much against the pace of Joseph. Cummins edged and wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva took a fine, diving catch tumbling to his right.

In a day of coincidence and high drama in Test cricket, England also produced a massive boil over, defeating India by 28 runs in Hyderabad, thanks to a seven-wicket haul from their own 24-year-old rookie bowler.

Debutant Tom Hartley took 7-62 off 26.2 overs of left-arm finger spin as India was dismissed for 202.

Ben Stokes’ team was 190 runs behind on the first innings, but surged back into the match because vice-captain Ollie Pope’s 196 got them to a second innings total of 420 and a lead of 236.

The win gives England a 1-0 lead with four matches to play in the five-Test series.

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