West Indies beat Australia in epic finish to famous Test match at the Gabba as Shamar Joseph stars

Shamar Joseph has stunned Australia, leading West Indies to taste victory in Test cricket on these shores for the first time in 27 years.

New Aussie opener Steve Smith did everything he could to steer his side to victory, carrying his bat through the fourth innings to score a brilliant 90 not out, but ultimately ran out of partners.

The visitors won by just eight runs in an enthralling three and a half days of cricket at the Gabba.

Watch, Stream & Catch Up with Australia’s Home of Cricket on 7plus >>

Joseph was forced to retire hurt while batting late on Day 3 when a Mitchell Starc yorker decimated his toe — forcing him to undergo scans in hospital on Saturday night — and he was in doubt even to take the field for Day 4.

But after sitting on the sidelines for the first 45 minutes of first session, the 24-year-old flipped the game on its head when he came on in just his second Test.

Joseph took 4-24 in a 30-minute period before finishing with stunning figures of 7-68, culminating with a rocket that sent Australian number 11 Josh Hazlewood’s off-stump flying.

“Twelve months ago, his dream was to play first-class cricket; 12 months later, he has led the West Indies to their most remarkable Test match victory,” West Indies great Ian Bishop said after the team’s first win in Australia since 1997 was sealed.

“Test cricket is alive and well.”

Ricky Ponting added: “What a moment in the history of the game”.

Smith had looked like he would save the day again, but gave his team a fright when he was on 80, as an attempt at fending off a searing Shamar Joseph bouncer flew up off his glove and landed just just outside the reach of Kraigg Brathwaite at slip.

With tensions peaking the very next over, the veteran Aussie batter was audacious enough to play a rare ramp shot over his head for six — which would belong far more comfortably in a T20 fixture than the red-ball game — cutting the deficit to just 14.

But despite doing his best to farm the strike and expose his partner to as few balls as possible, Hazlewood just failed to suppress the tidal wave that Joseph brought to the Gabba.

“This is a guy who suffered injury last night who is now into a 10th over, who’s limping. So he’s doing a Glenn Maxwell here and doing it on one leg. Really this is remarkable. What a strong young man,” Bishop said before Australia were bowled out.

“Look, I’ve been a part of a couple of really phenomenal Test matches. I’ve witnessed a couple of really phenomenal Test matches — this is right up there and, if it goes to the maroon, I don’t know if there’s been a bigger one.”

In the throes of the most bleak era of the once-powerful West Indies’ Test history, they overcame all odds to beat the world’s No.1 ranked team in their home conditions.

“Shamar Joseph puts his country on his back and delivers the West Indies one of their most famous Test victories ever,” James Brayshaw said.

Bishop added: “A real dream come true for Joseph, the deliverer for the West Indies.

“There will be felicitations from Kingston to Georgetown, Guyana.

“This is the most remarkable (win) that I’ve seen — hard to find any in the history of the game, perhaps, to top this.

“Not many people will be sleeping now in the Caribbean, I can tell you that.”

Peaking at around 150km/h, Joseph immediately found life with an old pink ball that had earlier caused Australia’s batters few troubles.

He bowled Cameron Green (42) and Travis Head with consecutive balls to begin the collapse.

Head’s golden duck was his third-straight in Tests at the Gabba as he became just the seventh Australian to register a king pair.

Smith survived the hat-trick ball but Mitchell Marsh (10) didn’t last much longer, while Alex Carey (two) was Joseph’s fourth victim in a manic six-over spell that also cost 45 runs.

He wasn’t done though, with Starc (21 off 14) becoming Joseph’s fifth scalp inside seven overs to end a brief cameo from the Australian quick that featured four boundaries.

Australia still needed 45 to win when skipper Pat Cummins, who blazed an unbeaten career-best 64 in the first innings before declaring 22 short of West Indies’ first-innings 311, strode to the crease 10 minutes before the tea break.

He was caught behind for just three, Nathan Lyon then surviving until the interval with Australia still requiring 29 to win and complete a 5-0 summer sweep.

Lyon fell in the first over after the resumption, but Smith continued to counter-attack as he hit the spectacular ramp shot over his head for six.

But he exposed Hazlewood once too often and Joseph clattered the stumps once more to cap an incredible solo performance.

Joseph said he thought he’d struggle to even be at the ground after being forced to retire hurt on Saturday night, until chatting to the team doctor.

“He did something to my toe, I don’t know what he did,” Joseph said.

“I feel that we’ve won the series, even though it’s 1-1.

“I already cried after my five-wicket haul … I’m not that tired; I told my skipper today I’d bowl today until the last wicket fell.”

– With AAP