From Steve Waugh to Brian Lara: Top 5 reactions from experts on 'sensational' Samar Joseph in Gabba Test

The entire cricketing fraternity was left amused and awestruck when the fairytale of Shamar Joseph finally got its destiny in the iconic Gabba against Australia. The youngster went on to put his all in the second innings of the second and last Test in Brisbane when West Indies was defending a low total of 215 runs.

The 24-year-old defied all the odds and ripped apart the mighty middle order of the World Test Champions, Australia. Despite struggling with a fractured toe, Shamar Joseph turned up for bowling in the second innings and claimed a sensational 7-wicket haul to help the underdog visitors win the thrilling contest by a narrow margin of 8 runs, scripting a history.

Just after this historic achievement of the inexperienced West Indies, the cricketing media and cricketing world were filled with huge praises for Shamar Joseph from the former cricketing legends, especially the Caribbean legends. With said that, here we’ll have a look at the top 5 reactions from the former cricketing legends on Shamar Joseph’s sensational performance at the Gabba.

AB de Villiers

Former legendary South Africa batter and ex-skipper, AB de Villiers penned down an emotional tweet for Shamar Joseph.

“The Shamar Joseph fairytale! Special scenes” wrote De Villiers in his X-post (formerly Twitter).

“Do yourself a favour, go read about his life on Wikipedia! Had tears in my eyes while reading about his journey. Inspirational to say the least,” he added later. 

Do yourself a favour, go read about his life on wikipedia! Literally had tears in my eyes while reading about his journey. Inspirational to say the least

— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) January 28, 2024

Steve Waugh

The former legendary Australian skipper couldn’t hold his emotions and came up with a congratulatory post for the youngster on Instagram.

“There is nothing like Test cricket and this man may be the saviour in the purest form of the game, (sic). Cinderella stories are rare in sports but this was truly epic from a young man who has single-handedly reignited the passion of cricket followers in the Caribbean and all over the world,” wrote Waugh in his Instagram post.

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A post shared by Steve Waugh (@stevewaugh)

Ian Bishop

One of the outstanding pacers ever played for West Indies, and now a renowned broadcaster, Ian Bishop was active in his commentary stint with Channel 7 at the moment when Shamar Joseph got the better of Josh Hazlewood and handled West Indies an iconic win.

“The first day-night Test win for the West Indies and this is just the beginning of a storied career. his is the most remarkable (Test win) that I've seen – hard to find any in the history of the game perhaps to top this. Not many people will be sleeping right now in the Caribbean, I'll tell you that,” said ecstatic Bishop.

Furthermore, he also came up with a suggestion for the Caribbean Cricket Board on his X-handle (formerly Twitter).

Curtley Ambrose

Former legendary Caribbean pacer Courtney Walsh came up with a big praise for the young pacer’s heroics against Australia. Ambrose also compared Joseph with the former legendary pacer late Malcolm Marshall who played despite a broken hand.

“He (Joseph) is a skiddy customer, more in the mould of Malcolm Marshall. So, I hope that he remains focused, and humble and continues to learn his craft and tries to learn and improve every single day. I would like to see Shamar Joseph play a lot of red-ball cricket,” said Ambrose on Daily Star.

Brian Lara

Undoubtedly, one of the most emotional and iconic reactions across the cricketing world came from the former legendary Caribbean skipper and batting legend Brian Lara. He couldn’t control his tears and emotions when he was on air during his commentary stint on Fox Sports, alongside former Aussie wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist and commentary legend Ian Smith.

“This is unbelievable. Twenty-seven years to beat Australia in Australia. Young, inexperienced, written off. This West Indies team can stand tall today. West Indies cricket can stand tall today. Today is a big day in West Indies cricket. Congratulations. Congratulations to every single member of that cricket team,” said emotional and teary Brian Lara after Ian Smith called the final wicket of Australia picked by Shamar Joseph.