The Baracara boy had come good. And yet it says a lot about the modern cricketing landscape that in the moments after watching the West Indies unearth another fast-bowling gem, former seamer Ian Bishop was worried. Worried that the Windies would soon be losing his rare talents, and worried for Joseph, too, with the riches and rigours about to come his way.
“[It is] important for the board, Guyana government and cooperate bodies to find a way to allocate funds to compensate Shamar Joseph and one or two other fast bowlers to keep them in the Caribbean and control how much cricket they play,” Bishop posted on X/Twitter. “Their pace is everything. Don’t allow burnout.”
Bishop knew what was coming – in February, Mark Wood was withdrawn from his contract with the Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League (IPL), leaving them to seek a high pace replacement. Joseph, his international career not yet a month old, was identified and recruited. In a seam attack short of an established international option, there’s every chance that the 24-year-old’s third professional T20 outing is Lucknow’s opener against the Rajasthan Royals on Sunday.
Deals elsewhere will follow. Joseph’s pure pace, as Bishop noted, will make him a highly valuable commodity. One could, if so inclined, chart a course through a year in franchise cricket that begins in Australia with the Big Bash in January, following through into the SA20 or ILT20, on to the PSL and IPL and through into The Hundred or Major League Cricket. Reports suggest the IPL are in negotiations with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) – yes, them – over an autumn version of their commercial behemoth. Welcome to the T20 treadmill, Shamar – good luck getting off.
