AUS vs WI 1st Test: Shamar Joseph Makes Dream Start, Matches 85-Year-Old Feat

Shamar Joseph made a dream start to his Test career as the pacer followed up his cameo with the bat, with a first ball wicket during day one of the first Test between Australia and West Indies on Wednesday (January 17).

The 24-year-old from Guyana, who received his cap from West Indies great Ian Bishop, dismissed Australia's new opener Steve Smith in the very first delivery that he bowled in Test cricket at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide.

A fairytale story was awaiting Joseph as he took the red ball in his hand to bowl the ninth over with the newly promoted Smith taking strike against him. He forced Smith to nick to slips with a good length delivery that came angling towards the right-handed batter.

Smith (12) with his usual style of batting came shuffling across the wicket but found a thick outside edge that carried to the fielder in third slip - Justin Greaves, who also made his debut in the Adelaide Test.

With this scalp, Joseph matched an 84-year-old feat as he became just the second West Indies cricketer after Tyrell Johnson to take a wicket on his first ball in Test cricket. Johnson had achieved the feat against England at The Oval in 1939.

Overall, he is the 23rd bowler to take a wicket with his first ball in men's Tests. Australia's Nathan Lyon is also one of the bowlers to have claimed a wicket in their very first delivery of their Test career. Here is a look at the bowlers with first-ball wickets:

Players with first-ball wicket on Test debut

Bowler	Batter Dismissed	Venue	Year
Tom Horan (Australia)	Walter Read (England)	Sydney	1883
Arthur Coningham (Australia)	Archie MacLaren (England)	Melbourne	1894
Bill Bradley (England)	Frank Laver (Australia)	Manchester	1899
Ted Arnold (England)	Victor Trumper (Australia)	Sydney	1903
Bert Vogler (South Africa)	Ernie Hayes (England)	Johannesburg	1906
Jack Crawford (England)	Bert Vogler (South Africa)	Johannesburg	1906
George Macaulay (England)	George Hearne (South Africa)	Cape Town	1923
Maurice Tate (England)	Fred Susskind	Birmingham	1924
Matt Henderson (New Zealand)	Eddie Dawson (England)	Christchurch	1930
Dennis Smith (New Zealand)	Eddie Paynter (England)	Christchurch	1933
Tyrell Johnson (West Indies)	Walter Keeton (England)	The Oval	1939
Keith Miller (Australia)	Walter Hadlee (New Zealand)	Wellington	1946
Dick Howorth (England)	Dennis Dyer (South Africa)	The Oval	1947
Intikhab Alam (Pakistan)	Colin McDonald (Australia)	Karachi	1959
Richard Illingworth (England)	Phil Simmons (West Indies)	Nottingham	1991
Nilesh Kulkarni (India)	Marvan Atapattu (Sri Lanka)	Colombo	1997
Chamila Gamage (Sri Lanka)	Mohammad Ashraful (Bangladesh)	Colombo	2002
Nathan Lyon (Australia)	Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)	Galle	2011
Shaminda Eranga (Sri Lanka)	Shane Watson (Australia)	Colombo (SSC)	2011
Dane Piedt (South Africa)	Mark Vermeulen (Zimbabwe)	Harare	2014
Hardus Viljoen (South Africa)	Alastair Cook (England)	Johannesburg	2016
Nijat Masood (Afghanistan)	Zakir Hasan (Bangladesh)	Mirpur	2023
Shamar Joseph (West Indies)	Steven Smith (Australia)	Adelaide	2024

He also claimed the second wicket for West Indies by removing Marnus Labuschagne for 10(25). Joseph ended the day with figures of 2/18 in 6 overs. Australia ended the day at 59 for 2.

Hailing from the small village of Baracara in Guyana, the 24-year-old had already left a mark in the first Test with his 55-run stand with Kemar Roach. He scored 36 to propel West Indies' score to 188.

His knock of 36 was the joint third highest for a player batting at number 11 on his Test debut. Australia's Ashton Agar tops the list with 98 runs followed by Chamila Gamage of Sri Lanka with 40 runs. Here is the top 5:

Highest score by Number 11 batter on Test debut

98 by Ashton Agar (Australia) vs England
40 by Chamila Gamage (Sri Lanka) vs Bangladesh
36 by Norman Cowans (England) vs Australia
36 by Shamar Joseph (West Indies) vs Australia
34 by William Moule (Australia) vs England

Earlier put into bat, West Indies managed to put up 188 on the board. Australia skipper Pat Cummins' decision did not go wrong as it helped them to sit in the driving seat from the initial stage of the series opener.

Kirk McKenzie showed grit and struck 50 off 94 deliveries but lost his wicket to Josh Hazlewood. Cummins and Hazlewood ran riots, as they scalped four each to restrict the visitors on a score of 188.