A phenomenal first year in Test cricket for Guyanese speedster Shamar Joseph culminated with him taking home the award for Men’s Test Player of the Year 2023-24 at the 8th CWI/WIPA Awards Gala at the Wyndham Grand Barbados Sam Lord’s Castle on Sunday.
Joseph, whose debut series against Australia last January took the cricket world by storm, copped the top prize thanks to 29 wickets in eight matches at an average of 26.75 and a strike rate of 38.6.
In those eight games, the 25-year-old already has three five-wicket hauls with two of those coming in the aforementioned Australia series.
He picked up 5-94 in 20 overs on debut in Adelaide in a game that the hosts won by 10 wickets before his match-winning career best 7-68 in the second innings of the second test that the West Indies famously won.
“It’s an amazing feeling for me,” Joseph told CWI media officer Jerome Foster in an interview after receiving his award on Sunday.
“This is my first time winning any award and my first time experiencing an award ceremony also so it’s a great feeling. I just want to keep putting in the performances that will help me to get more of these going forward,” he added.
Joseph’s next opportunity to shine in Windies colors will be during the three-test series against Australia set to start on Wednesday at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.