Joseph, starting to bowl towards the end of the first hour of day four, took seven wickets in a spell that saw him bowl 11.5 overs on the trot with only the dinner break offering him some respite.
“I wasn’t even coming out to the ground this morning to be fair. I must give a shout-out to the doctor,” Joseph told the broadcaster after the game. “He is an amazing doctor to me. He told me to come to the ground for a reason, even if it’s just to support the guys.”
“But I came and he did something to my toe. I don’t know what he did but something worked. So I just had that time to go out there and bowl and bring this game home for my team.”
“It was just [about being] positive. That’s all. [My team-mates] said just go out there and do it – take wickets,” he said. “It was just our positivity. I am not that tired because I wanted to do this for my team. I told my skipper I would bowl to the end until the last wicket falls.
“It doesn’t matter how my toes are, I’m okay. I did it for him and I am happy that he is proud of me now.”
This was West Indies’ first Test win in Australia since 1997, and the first against them since 2003, and the magnitude of the feat wasn’t lost on the 24-year-old.
“I feel like we won the series. Even though it’s 1-1 I feel like we won the entire series,” Joseph said. “I feel really amazing for my team-mates. They are really encouraging and I am glad that I made them proud and bring the series to 1-1.
“Tears came to my eyes right now. I already cried during my five-wicket haul [in the first Test]. It’s just happiness. That’s the emotion I can bring out right now. Just happy that we won the Test.”
Brathwaite: ‘This is amazing, but it has to continue’
Brathwaite was happy with the win, but now wants his team to continue putting in performances like this one.
“We won a Test match in Australia. It’s amazing,” he said at the presentation ceremony. “It does a lot [for West Indies cricket]. It means a lot. It’s been a number of years since we’ve won a Test match here.
“But my message to the group is that this is the beginning. It’s amazing, we enjoy this, but I think this has to continue.”
Brathwaite said some harsh words from former Australia fast bowler Rodney Hogg served as inspiration for West Indies in the day-night Test.
“I must say we had two words that inspired us in this Test match. Mr. Rodney Hogg said that we were pathetic and hopeless. That was our inspiration,” Brathwaite said. “We wanted to show the world we’re not pathetic.
“And I must ask him ask him, are these muscles big enough for him?” Brathwaite asked, flexing his biceps.
Brathwaite only got to know an hour before the day’s play started that he would have Joseph available to bowl. He hailed the fast bowler as a “superstar” and credited him for leading by example.
“The doctor said he got an injection and he’s quite good and then he [Joseph] told me he’s going to do it. I had to back him.
“He’s a superstar and I know he’ll do great things for West Indies in the future. Just his belief… he told me today he’s not putting [the ball] down till it’s finished. That’s the example for this team to follow.”