Kingston [Jamaica], February 3 (ANI): Former West Indies selector Roland Butcher, who was part of the panel that plucked out Shamar Joseph, recalled the moment he was convinced that the young quick bowler is a special talent.
Last Sunday, Joseph shocked the cricket world by taking 7 for 68 and leading the West Indies to a historic Test victory over Australia at the Gabba. His effort followed a historic five-wicket haul in his first Test match in Adelaide, where he dismissed Steven Smith with the opening delivery of the match.
Butcher, who played international cricket for England, was a West Indies selector until earlier this year and was present at various stages of Joseph’s meteoric rise, which made global headlines with his 7 for 68 at the Gabba to help West Indies win by eight runs despite an injured toe.
“I immediately saw this guy bowling and thought, wow, this guy has got talent. Went back to the hotel and sat down with Desmond and said, I saw a boy today who I believe is what we’ve been looking for. He’s the real material as a fast bowler,” Butcher told ESPNcricinfo.
“What I saw was a guy with great athletic ability. He’s not a big lad, but he’s strong and extremely fit. You could see that in him then, and once he started playing for Guyana, you saw the easy run up and the pace and the areas that he bowled. He’s not a guy who is all over the place. He bowls good areas but at a serious pace,” he said.
Joseph grabbed five wickets in his second first-class encounter before being selected for the A tour to South Africa, where he took 12 wickets in two games.
“It surprised us all that he’s done it so quickly but we always believed he had the talent. We took a chance, a calculated risk. I believed Australia was the perfect place for him to play because the pitches obviously favour fast bowling but you still need to know how to bowl there,” Butcher said.
“What you saw in Australia is what he did in that first game. The same lengths, movement, pace, everything you saw he did in the first game,” the former West Indies selector added.
Joseph bowled an awe-inspiring stint in the second Test in Brisbane, despite sustaining a toe injury off a Mitchell Starc yorker. He took seven wickets for 68 runs, including a six-wicket haul in a ten-over session that significantly changed the game’s momentum.
Although Butcher’s position as a selector expired, the two remained in regular touch during the Australia trip, with Butcher providing advice on bowling in the circumstances. His blistering speed, which peaked at 150 km/h, shredded the Australian batting order, leading to the West Indies’ first Test victory on Australian territory in 27 years.
“We knew his capabilities but don’t think we expected that sort of impact. How can you? The impact he’s had is unreal. What he has achieved is unbelievable. From his background, what he had to do…he’s one of the most natural athletes I’ve seen for a long time,” Butcher said.
“He’s not a bang-it-into-the-pitch bowler. We talked about not getting carried away with the bounce and bowling a fuller length and about being quicker through the air,” he said.
“You have to remember where he came from. You must have a real love for the game and a serious desire to play in a place where there’s hardly any cricket, hardly any facilities, and a very difficult place to get to. The support he got from within his village, he must have had a huge desire to be a cricketer,” he added. (ANI)
