Joseph rekindles a Caribbean romance

For West Indies, hope springs eternal. On Sunday, it took the shape of a lithe fast bowler sprinting in, stealing edges, bamboozling stumps and setting off on a victory run that triggered a spontaneous outpouring of sentiment that West Indies cricket is still alive and kicking.

Caribbean people are not known to be very emotional. But when something moves Brian Lara and Carl Hooper to tears, you know it's special. All because 24-year-old Shamar Joseph chose this day to perform a miracle with a near-fractured toe, snaring seven wickets to deliver an eightrun win, West Indies' first in Australia since 1997 and their first against Australia since 2003.

That it came at the Gabba of all places, where Australia never lost in over 32 years but have been defeated in two Tests out of four since 2021, shouldn't be lost on West Indies, who, incidentally, were the last side to win at that venue before that, in late 1988. But in the bigger picture of West Indies slowly slipping into cricketing oblivion while not qualifying for back-to-back World Cups, could this win be the catalyst for a change into something bigger, something greater? Perhaps.