During the Adelaide Test match against Australia, West Indies debutant Shamar Joseph joined the list of bowlers to take a wicket with their first ball in Test cricket.
Shamar Joseph, one of seven uncapped cricketers in the West Indies squad, debuted alongside Justin Greaves and Kavem Hodge in the first Test of the two-match series. Coming to bat at 133-9, he slammed a 41-ball 36 to push the West Indies to 188.
Joseph’s 36 was the second-highest score for a side. He also went past Devendra Bishoo’s record of 24 and set a new record for the highest individual score by a West Indian debutant from No.11.
Steve Smith, one of the greatest Test batters of all time, found himself in unfamiliar terrain when he walked out to open for the first time. He and Khawaja saw off the first spell from the new-ball bowlers, Kemar Roach and Alzarri Joseph. After eight overs, Australia were 25-0.
Shamar Joseph replaced Roach at this point. His first ball in Test cricket was outside the off-stump. Smith poked at it, and Greaves held the catch at slip.
In the process, Joseph became the 23rd cricketer and the second West Indian (after Tyrell Johnson in 1939) to take a wicket with his first ball in Test cricket.
Bowlers to take a wicket with their first ball in Test cricket
Tom Horan (Australia) dismissed WW Read (England), Sydney 1882/83
Arthur Coningham (Australia) dismissed Archie MacLaren (England), Melbourne 1894/95
Bill Bradley (England) dismissed Frank Laver (Australia), Manchester 1899
Ted Arnold (England) dismissed Victor Trumper (Australia), Sydney 1903/04
Bert Vogler (South Africa) dismissed Ernie Hayes (England), Johannesburg 1905/06
Jack Crawford (England) dismissed Bert Vogler (South Africa), Johannesburg 1905/06
George Macaulay (England) dismissed George Hearne (South Africa), Cape Town 1922/23
Maurice Tate (England) dismissed Fred Susskind (South Africa), Birmingham 1924
Matt Henderson (New Zealand) dismissed Eddie Dawson (England), Christchurch 1929/30
Dennis Smith (New Zealand) dismissed Eddie Paynter (England), Christchurch 1932/33
Tyrell Johnson (West Indies) dismissed Walter Keeton (England), The Oval 1939
Keith Miller (Australia) dismissed Walter Hadlee (New Zealand), Wellington 1945/46
Dick Howorth (England) dismissed Dennis Dyer (South Africa), The Oval 1947
Intikhab Alam (Pakistan) dismissed Colin McDonald (Australia), Karachi 1959/60
Richard Illingworth (England) dismissed Phil Simmons (West Indies), Nottingham 1991
Nilesh Kulkarni (India) dismissed Marvan Atapattu (Sri Lanka), Premadasa 1997
Chamila Gamage (Sri Lanka) dismissed Mohammad Ashraful (Bangladesh), SSC 2002
Nathan Lyon (Australia) dismissed Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka), Galle 2011/12
Shaminda Eranga (Sri Lanka) dismissed Shane Watson (Australia), SSC 2011/12
Dane Piedt (South Africa) dismissed Mark Vermeulen (Zimbabwe), Harare 2014
Hardus Viljoen (South Africa) dismissed Alastair Cook (England), Johannesburg 2015/16
Nijat Masood (Afghanistan) dismissed Zakir Hasan (Bangladesh), Mirpur 2023
Shamar Joseph (West Indies) dismissed Steve Smith (Australia), Adelaide 2023/24
On January 2, 1904, Vogler got Hayes with his first ball, then fell to Crawford’s first ball in the same Test match.
No one achieved the feat in the 1960s, the 1970s, or the 1980s.
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