Every now and then Test cricket gives you days like this. The entire West Indian team races to the deepest corner of the outfield, running in pure celebration, undulating behind each other like streamers, only able to stop when the fence gets in the way. Winners by eight runs against one of the toughest home sides in one of the toughest away matches, Australia in Brisbane, after finishing the first session of the Test at 64 for five.
A few hours later, halfway through the world tour in Hyderabad, England recorded another unlikely victory against the only stronger host. It doesn’t matter what ground India uses, it’s all a fortress, and England are down 190 runs in the first innings and bowled out 29 runs to India in a win. Both Tests were decided in the fourth innings by seven wickets from a little-known bowler in his debut series.
Related: Shamar Joseph flies to inspire Australia’s first West Indian win since 1997
These are the ones we will remember. The games were dismissed as great finishes, with achievements highlighted as the ones that defined them. Shamar Joseph and Tom Hartley, in these two cases, whose efforts will be remembered not only by the record keepers and the history buffs, but in vague and romantic terms by a larger segment of the population.
If England’s comeback looks bigger in terms of the scoreboard, it cannot claim to be as big an upset in the wider context. Because the three cricketing nations are so much richer than all the others, India or England beating each other or Australia must always stay within the limits of what is possible. Teams from outside that club face a much greater disadvantage when playing against their members.
Hence the magnitude of the mismatch in Brisbane. In Test cricket at home or away this century, until last Sunday, the West Indies had defeated Australia once in 29 attempts. That was another miracle as Brian Lara captained the world record chase of 418, with the West Indies sneaking home with runs off the tail and three wickets in hand. It was in the batting paradise of the Antigua Recreation Ground, where Lara would earn 400 on his own eleven months later.
Apart from that match, the West Indies have recorded four draws and 24 losses. Three of those draws were affected by rain. Four of the losses were by an innings, three by more than 300 runs, and another four by at least 100 runs. Five losses were by nine or ten wickets. Only two of the losses meet the statistician’s definition of a good result: three wickets in Bridgetown in 2012 and 35 runs in Perth in 2009. In both, the West Indies chased the match from afar.
All of this – not just the history, but the inequality it reflects – is what the current West Indies team faced in Brisbane, with a painfully inexperienced side against an opposition that is anything but. The many ancestors of Success fill the four days: Kavem Hodge and Joshua da Silva save the first innings with the bat, Kemar Roach shakes off the retirement calls with his new ball in the second, and Alzarri Joseph backs him to put Australia on a light to keep behind. In the third, after being overwhelmed in Adelaide, the West Indies middle order failed to make big scores but did accumulate enough runs to set a target of 216.
But almost every major disruption requires one achievement above all others, something powerful enough to outweigh the weight of the setbacks. That was Shamar Joseph’s, a last chance to influence the series after hitting runs and taking five wickets in Adelaide, only to have his bowling nicked and his toe broken while batting in Brisbane. His foot must have screamed, but the ball also fell from his hand and he got closer to 90 miles per hour as his marathon stint progressed.
Even in this final stanza, the ball often flew off the bat as quickly as it landed. Seven wickets in 71 balls – meaning the other 64 balls of his spell yielded 68 runs, a rate of 5.74 per over. Five players in history have had a higher economy rate while taking five wickets or more. No one has leaked faster runs while taking seven. It was all action.
Yet those seven wicket-taking balls were all extraordinary, and were supported as such in the field. Whoever started it jumped like a gymnast over the vault at Cameron Green and caught his elbow and then onto his stumps. Bounce to Mitchell Marsh again, simultaneously seaming away to grab the shoulder of the bat, extra points for the deflected relay catch at slip. Bounce and run to Pat Cummins, forcing him to defend, and Da Silva plays gymnast with the catch this time. Bounce to pull Mitchell Starc’s attacking top edge after a run flurry.
In their own category, the three around the wicket go to the left-handers: Travis Head, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood. One the perfect yorker dropped at the crease, another torrid pass on the corner mid-on, the third on the impeccable length to take the top of the stump. Wood, wood, wood and every possible way to achieve it. Two of Australia’s most dangerous strikers in the space of six balls, and the last to seal the ball.
Related: Cherish the West Indies’ remarkable Test win in Australia – but be angry about it too | Jonathan Liew
One would like to dream that this is the beginning of a new West Indian era, a spark that will reignite the fire in Babylon. Especially with a new star who promised after the match that Test cricket will come before T20 riches for him every time. But that’s a lot to ask of a kid whose two Tests are part of a career spanning seven first-class matches. Lara had to carry a team on his back for years and that rarely worked. Injury, distraction, and disillusionment are likely familiarities. Even as Joseph thrives, the reality of cricket’s inequality still exists. Everything that needs to be addressed does not disappear in one magical afternoon.
But we have that afternoon. Another one to think back on. The thud of the tree stump tilting back, the upward tilt of voices in commentary, the feeling of everything rushing forward, headlong, unstoppable. Those eleven white figures streaming across the field, turning together, stretching their limbs in all directions, like the seagulls on a cricket field taking flight. All they want is to be near Joseph, near the center of magic; to follow him in the way we hope they will continue to do. And if that doesn’t happen, this is still the case. That’s the beauty of photos that live forever. He will always run, run, run.