‘Shamar in the mould of Malcolm Marshall’

Sir Curtly Ambrose, who is currently in Sylhet working as a commentator in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), was reluctant to take any credit over pacer Shamar Joseph’s success when this reporter congratulated him over the phone. Shamar claimed a remarkable seven-wicket haul to seal a memorable Test win for the West Indies over Australia at the Gabba on Sunday. Ambrose, who is a huge proponent of Shamar, sounded extremely proud during an exclusive interview with The Daily Star’s Mazhar Uddin where he opened up about which Caribbean great Shamar reminded him of and what the Gabba Test win means for West Indies cricket.

The excerpts of the interview are given below:

The Daily Star (DS): You must have enjoyed Shamar Joesph’s spell against Australia…

Curtly Ambrose (CA): Well, just like everyone, I enjoyed the spell very much as he was the main man, because of whom West Indies won the Test match. There was doubt whether he would bowl or not since he suffered an injury but he went out there like a true fighter and a true warrior and delivered the goods to bring victory for West Indies. Really happy personally for him and for Kraigg Brathwaite and the team for the win.

DS: Shamar came to bowl despite hurting his toes earlier. What does that say about his character?

CA: I mean, he is a fighter and a very passionate person, who always wants to do well. If you speak with him, you can tell that he is hungry and wants success not only for him and his family but also for the West Indies team. He showed full commitment despite the injury, got out there and delivered the goods.

DS: What impressed you when you first saw Joseph in your pace bowling clinic in 2022?

CA: The first time I saw Shamar Joseph was when I went to Guyana for a pace bowling clinic for a weekend. He was part of the pace bowling clinic and that’s when I met him for the first time. I was very impressed with his raw pace. I remember I told him that I expect to see him in the Guyana national colours shortly and once he gets there, I want to see him in the West Indies team. That’s what I told him then and last year when I met him again during the CPL, he reminded me what I had told him earlier. And he did make the Guyana team as well and he also played for the Guyana franchise in the CPL and within a short period of time here he is as an international cricketer and has done extremely well in Australia.

DS: How does it feel when someone who idolises you announces himself in such style in international cricket?

CA: It’s always a nice feeling when someone idolises you and wants to be like you. But to all fast bowlers who idolise me or want to be like me, I always said no, don’t be like me, as you have got to be better than me. That’s the inspiration I always give them, just don’t settle to be like me, be better than I was. I am really happy for him, he is among those persons who are willing to learn, are passionate and always want to represent West Indies.

DS: Does Shamar Joseph remind you of some of the great fast bowlers of West Indies?

CA: See, the thing with Shamar, he is not the tallest fast bowler. You know, when you talk about West Indian fast bowlers, most tend to think of great fast bowlers who were 6’10 or 6’8, like myself, Courtney Walsh and Joel Garner, who were well over 6 feet. But Shamar Joseph is not a 6 feet tall guy. He is a bit of skidder as he’s got raw pace and bowls at a pace of 140 plus consistently which is high pace. He is a skiddy customer more in the mould of Malcolm Marshall, who was quick and skiddy. So, I hope that he remains focused, humble and continues to learn his craft and tries to learn and improve every single day. He is the type of person who could go on to become a successful cricketer. He is certainly a huge find for West Indies cricket and as long he can continue, I think he could be a force to be reckoned with in world cricket.

DS: Shamar had already mentioned that he would give preference to Test cricket over T20s. What are the areas you think Shamar needs to be careful considering the glitz and glamour of T20 cricket all over the world?

CA: Well, I believe that he loves cricket in general and it doesn’t matter whether its Test, ODI or T20 cricket. I believe he is just passionate about cricket. But for me, I would love to see him continue playing red-ball cricket for a while so that he can develop his skills. Because we know sometimes as a young player as you gain success you are wanted in the T20 franchise cricket around the world. I would like to see Shamar Joseph play a lot of red-ball cricket. He has just started his career so he needs to learn and understand what it takes to become a world class fast bowler and then you can always branch out to ODIs or T20 cricket. But learn the art first, make sure he’s got a solid foundation and then he can branch out.

DS: The win at the Gabba yesterday was the first Test win for West Indies in Australia since 1997. How much does this win matter and where do you think this win can take West Indies cricket in the coming days?

CA: It does matter a lot as when the team travelled to Australia not many people gave them the chance to even compete, let alone winning a Test match. We sent a team where we have seven or eight [seven] young players who never played Test match cricket. It was an inexperienced team led by an experienced [Kraigg] Brathwaite. So not many gave them any chance and having lost the first Test in Adelaide everyone thought that it was an easy picking for Australia. But the guys came back well at the Gabba and showed fight and heart and defended 216. So, to me that was significant and that should do their confidence a world of good and let’s hope they can build on this going forward. The only downside for West Indies is we are not playing enough Test cricket. If you see, we have played just a two-match Test series against Australia and I mean we need to play more Test match cricket. You need to believe that once West Indies starts winning Test matches against top teams, I think we might see West Indies playing more Test matches in future.