Shamar Joseph, a 23-year-old father of one, quit his job at a security firm to focus on cricket and has achieved success after a lot of hard work and determination.
Joseph, another proud product of the Tucber Park Cricket Club in New Amsterdam, Berbice, will feature in the Guyana Harpy Eagles squad that will play in the upcoming West Indies Championship on February 1.
However, Joseph never played for Berbice or Guyana youth teams. In an exclusive interview with Brandon Corlette, a journalist in the region, Joseph said,
“I must thank God, for giving me strength and the ability to trust in myself.”
The young right-arm pacer spoke about his performances in several first-class matches in Berbice.
“I started in Berbice with Tucber Park. I played a few First-Division and Second-Division matches. It is not much, but the experience was very important for me, where I can play and then come to Georgetown. I started at a tender age, I did not know much about the game. But I love the game of cricket so much.”
Having taken eight wickets in the two Test matches for the Guyana Harpy Eagles in Providence, he had no understanding or prior knowledge of the fitness test. However, after scoring 60 in the last yoyo test, he passed the 40 mark in his maiden yoyo test.
Joseph said when asked how confident he is of earning selections after putting in some good performances
“I was confident. This is always my dream. I focused on my dream and I got there. I worked very hard to get to this level of cricket, and I must thank God once again for being there with me the entire time.”
Apart from his bowling, Joseph is an agile fielder as well as a tough left-handed batsman. He talked about his batting ability.
“The GCB inter-county started well for me, where I scored a half-century, but I got an injury in the second game. The exposure was good for me.”
Asked about playing alongside his club-mate Smith and national team-mate Ronsford Beaton, Joseph said they would support him going forward.
“They are very experienced guys and they talk to me about the tour. The guys promise to work along with me in my journey and career onwards.”
Commenting further, he emphasized that he will pay attention to the mistakes made by the batsmen in batting.
“I maintain focus on an area. I focus on the mistakes the batsmen make and I capitalize on that.”
Also, the young pacer thanked his parents, his child’s mother, coaches Esuan Crandon, Takeram George, Brandon Corlette, Damion Vantull, and Anthony D’Andrade for being there for him.