Shamar Joseph is ICC Player-of-the-Month for January 2024

Guyanese fast bowler Shamar Joseph has been voted the ICC Men’s Player-of-the-Month for January 2024.

Not many players have made a more impressive start to their international career than Joseph, with the West Indies quick rising from relative obscurity to the cusp of stardom after just two matches.

Joseph’s introduction to international cricket was so eye-catching, that the right-armer beat out strong opposition from England batter Ollie Pope and Australia seamer Josh Hazlewood to claim the first men’s monthly award for the new calendar year.

It didn’t take long for Joseph to make his mark on debut in the first Test against Australia as the 24-year-old revived memories of West Indies quicks of yesteryear when he claimed the prized wicket of the world’s number two ranked batter Steve Smith with his very first delivery.

Joseph picked up another four Australian scalps on his way to sensational figures of 5-94 in his first Test appearance in Adelaide and backed up this effort with decent scores of 36 and 15 coming into bat for his side at number 11.

Somehow, Joseph produced an even better performance during the West Indies’ upset victory over Australia in the second Test in Brisbane.

He produced a spell for the ages to collect figures of 7-68 that helped the Caribbean side to their first Test triumph in Australia since 1997.

Through two Tests, Joseph has collated 57 runs at a decent batting clip of 28.50, having also taken 13 wickets at an imposing average of 17.30. (ICC)