By: Brandon Corlette
A rose that grew from concrete, a man who made sacrifices and maintained discipline. That’s the description in a nutshell of Guyana Harpy Eagles’ latest selectee, Shamar Joseph.
The 23-year-old father of one left his job at a security firm to focus on cricket, and he has been rewarded after much hard work and determination.
Joseph, another proud product of the Tucber Park Cricket Club in New Amsterdam, Berbice, is beyond thankful for the selection he earned to the Guyana Harpy Eagles team that will play in the upcoming West Indies championships on February 1.
Interestingly, Joseph has never played for any Berbice or Guyana youth teams.
“I must thank God, for giving me strength and the ability to trust in myself,” Joseph said.
I witnessed Joseph first-hand at a First-Division game in Berbice, where he claimed five wickets. His attitude and determination stood out, and his confidence.
“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,” the right-arm fast bowler added.
Known for swinging the ball and being extremely fit, Joseph had claimed eight wickets in the two Guyana Harpy Eagles trial matches at Providence. He was also on the list of standbys last season.
Despite not having previous national experience, Joseph was unfazed, as he believed in the formula of hard work. In fact, he ran 60 on the last yoyo test, and he breezed past the set mark of 40 in his maiden yoyo test, despite lacking previous knowledge.
When asked how confident he was on earning selection after putting in some good performances, Joseph said: “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.”
In addition to his bowling exploits, Joseph is an agile fielder and hard-hitting left-handed batsman. He showed his batting ability in the senior inter-county in Guyana where he scored a half-century.
“The [Guyana Cricket Board] 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,” Joseph noted.
In recent times, Tucber Park has produced Romario Shepherd and Nial Smith. And now, Joseph is following in their footsteps. When asked about playing with his clubmate Smith and national teammate Ronsford Beaton, Joseph said: “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.”
He further disclosed that he was seeking to maintain focus and puzzle out the batsmen. “I maintain focus on an area. I focus on the mistakes the batsmen make and I capitalise on that.”
In closing, Joseph thanked his parents, the mother of his child who was there for him through all his struggles, Coach Esuan Crandon, Takeram George, Brandon Corlette, Damion Vantull, and Anthony D’Andrade among others.
