"More in the mould of Malcolm Marshall" - Curtly Ambrose in awe of Shamar Joseph after his heroics against Australia

Former West Indies pace spearhead Curtly Ambrose believes Shamar Joseph is the clone of the late Malcolm Marshall. The retired cricketer hopes to see Joseph play a lot more red-ball cricket in the near future before deciding his commitment to other forms.

Joseph has emerged as one of the brightest prospects for the West Indies in recent times. The 24-year-old took a fifer on his Test debut against Australia and took seven wickets in Brisbane to fashion their first win in the longest format Down Under since 1997.

Speaking to The Daily Star in Dhaka, Ambrose said he wants Joseph to keep learning and stay focused as he begins his rise. The 60-year-old Antiguan wants the youngster to only concentrate on red-ball cricket for now.

"He is a skiddy customer, more in the mould of Malcolm Marshall. So, I hope that he remains focused, humble and continues to learn his craft and tries to learn and improve every single day," Ambrose said.

"I would like to see Shamar Joseph play a lot of red-ball cricket. He has just started his career, so he needs to learn and understand what it takes to become a world-class fast bowler, and then you can always branch out to ODIs or T20 cricket."

It was a spirited display from Joseph, whose toe was wounded on Day 3, courtesy of a Mitchell Starc yorker. However, he played through the pain and earned the Player of the Match award.

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"We are not playing enough Test cricket" - Curtly Ambrose

Curtly Ambrose. (Image Credits: Getty)

Curtly Ambrose rated beating Australia as a massive achievement, given the West Indies sent an inexperienced side. However, the 60-year-old hopes they have turned a corner, saying:

"We sent a team where we have seven or eight [seven] young players who never played Test match cricket. To me, that was significant and that should do their confidence a world of good, and let’s hope they can build on this going forward. The only downside for West Indies is we are not playing enough Test cricket."

It was also West Indies' first Test win over Australia since 2003.