West Indies pacer Shamar Joseph was voted the ICC Men's Player of the Month for January 2024 on Tuesday.
Joseph beat England batter Ollie Pope and Australia seamer Josh Hazlewood to claim the first men's monthly award for the new calendar year.
“Not many players have made a more impressive start to their international career than Shamar Joseph, with the West Indies quick rising from relative obscurity to the cusp of stardom after just two matches,” the ICC said in a press release.
“It didn't take long for Joseph to make his mark on debut in the first Test against Australia as the 24-year-old revived memories of West Indies quicks of yesteryear when he claimed the prized wicket of the world's No.2 ranked batter Steve Smith with his very first delivery.
“Joseph picked up another four Australian scalps on his way to sensational figures of 5-94 in his first Test appearance in Adelaide and backed up this effort with decent scores of 36 and 15 coming into bat for his side at No.11.
“Somehow, Joseph produced an even better performance during the West Indies' upset victory over Australia in the second Test in Brisbane. He produced a spell for the ages to collect figures of 7-68 that helped the Caribbean side to their first Test triumph in Australia since 1997.”
Over two Tests, Joseph scored 57 runs at a decent average of 28.50, having also bagging 13 wickets at an impressive average of 17.30.
- Shamar Joseph