AUS vs WI: Josh Hazlewood commends Shamar Joseph after outstanding debut in Adelaide

With many notable cricketers opting to play franchise cricket over Test matches, West Indies were in a dilemma with their selection process for the series against Australia. Seven uncapped players were called up for the series, with three being handed their debut cap in the first Test in Adelaide. Debutant pacer Shamar Joseph stood tall and produced a brilliant performance, as he made 36 and bagged a five-for.

The 24-year-old got the better of Steve Smith on his very first ball in Test cricket, as Smith nicked it to Justin Graeves at second slips. Later, he went on to pick wickets of Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon to complete his five-for. Meanwhile, speaking about his impressive debut, Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood lauded the youngster and called it a "dream debut".

“Amazing debut, you wanna keep going on that. Smithy first wicket on the first ball in Test cricket, dream debut,” Hazlewood was quoted as saying by India Today.

Smith, who made his first appearance as an opener in Test cricket scored 12 runs in the first innings and 11* in the second innings as Australia picked up a comfortable 10-wicket win in Adelaide. Hazlewood mentioned that the 34-year-old was a bit nervous but looked in good touch.

“Smithy was a bit nervous, but he was good. Think he struggles in the quick ten-minute change but all good,” the pacer mentioned.

I bowled just as well in the first half of the summer, without much result: Josh Hazlewood

Hazlewood dismantled the visitors in the first Test of the series. He picked up four wickets in the first innings and a brilliant five-for in the second innings. Courtesy of his phenomenal bowling, West Indies were restricted to 188 and 120 in the two innings respectively. Speaking about his own performance, Hazlewood mentioned that he was bowling well against Pakistan as well but did not get the desired results.

“Nice to have a couple of days off. We made use of the surface in both innings. I felt like I bowled just as well in the first half of the summer, without much result. With this attack, I felt it is relentless and someone picks up the wickets,” Hazlewood added.