Kemar Roach advised Shamar Joseph, who debuted in the Test scene last week in Adelaide, to “establish his own legacy,” but he is cognizant of the fact that he will encounter obstacles along the road.
When he dismissed Steven Smith in Test cricket, Joseph struck with his very first delivery, concluded with 5 for 94, and demonstrated his prowess with the bat to indicate he may not remain at No. 11 for long.
His ascent to Test cricket has been extraordinary, considering he has only appeared in five first-class matches. Prior to that, he resided in the boat-accessible village of Baracara in Guyana. Joseph is presently a topic of discussion regarding his potential contribution to West Indies’ efforts to reconstitute their Test cricket program, despite the fact that he has already secured an ILT20 contract and further proposals of a similar nature are improbable.
“The best advice I can give him is to build his own legacy,” Roach said. “Understand what you want from cricket. That’s up to him to determine, if it’s monetary, or if it’s just stats and statistics or whatever. There’s going to be a lot of distractions… he’s a hot commodity right now. So, he needs to choose what he really wants and what he thinks is best for his career going forward. So, it’s up to him, as a young man, but I definitely give him that advice.”
“I had that when I started. Jerome Taylor, Daren Powell, Fidel Edwards [were] some guys around to help me when I started my career,” he said. “I took knowledge and learning from it. So obviously for me now, it’s all about passing on the mantle now to the youngsters. He’s got a very good career ahead of him. At this stage, he’s willing to learn. We have a lot of conversations. So, I think once he keeps doing that, not just coming from me but anyone who he thinks can help him in his career, he can take a lot of knowledge on board and become a better cricketer.”
Although Roach is approaching the final phases of his career, he has not yet determined the conclusion of his Test career. He said with a grin, “Let’s see how things progress day by day.” On his debut tour of Australia, he caused Ricky Ponting to retire injured in Perth. However, despite this, he has found Australia to be the most difficult location to capture wickets with a rate of 77.90 for 10 in eight matches.
“As a bowler coming to Australia you are bowling against some of the best batters in the world so there is always a good challenge,” he said. “I love a good challenge. I have lived for that my whole career so for me coming here is just about expressing yourself, enjoying and relishing the moment and giving it a good go. Be confident in yourself and your skills and let’s see how the day goes for you.”
