Reaching baracara

Lucknow Super Giants: Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have roped in West Indies’ fast-bowler Shamar Joseph as a replacement for England tearaway pacer Mark Wood in their squad ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season. The tournament said in a statement that Joseph will join LSG for INR 3 crore, which will also be the pacer’s first stint in the IPL.

Joseph was recently at the forefront of West Indies’ Test win over Australia by eight runs in the day-night Test match at The Gabba in Brisbane. Joseph set aside a right toe injury to scalp a sensational seven-wicket haul in the second innings for the visitors to secure a magical victory over Australia, which led to West Indies drawing the series at 1-1.

In that series, Joseph also became just the 14th player in the history of Tests, and the first from the West Indies, to take a five-wicket haul on debut, including taking Steve Smith out on his first ball in the format. Joseph had left a good impression during West Indies A's tour of South Africa, where he claimed 12 wickets. He hails from the remote village of Baracara in Guyana, a place which did not have telephone or internet connections until 2018.