It was curiosity that dragged them through the Adelaide Oval gates on the first morning of the first Test against the West Indies.

With little known about the opposition, and little new to pore over within the Australian team, a notable peculiarity became the main talking point.

Steve Smith, one of the greatest players in Australia's storied Test cricket history, was going to bat in a slightly different position to what he traditionally has.

To the uninitiated it may not sound like much of an event, but if you know, you know. Cricket is nothing without the minor anomalies that make up major storylines.

It took quite some time for the Smith experiment to launch. Pat Cummins delayed lift-off by choosing to bowl when he won the toss, but it soon became clear that Smith would have to wait only hours, not days, for his chance to bat.

An early hit before tea should have been on the cards, but Australia's refusal to take tail-end wickets in a proper and timely manner pushed the innings into the final session.

Finally, the moment came. Here he is, Smith The Opener, live and in person for the very first time.

What did it look like? An awful lot like Smith the number four.

He looked comfortable and erratic at the same time, but that's nothing new. He played some gorgeous pull shots, and managed to get whacked on the body by a couple too.

And then he got out. Suddenly his day, his moment, became someone else's entirely.

Shamar Joseph will never forget his first day of Test cricket, and should he be afforded the opportunity of the long and prosperous Test career his talent clearly deserves, nor will we.

While Smith drowned out all other pre-match discussion, there were murmurs in the background of a young West Indian set to be injected in the bowling attack.

There might not be anything better in cricket than those first rumours of a new fast bowler. There's this kid, hardly played a first class game, but he bowls wheels. You should see him in the nets, he's got them all jumping. I reckon they're going to unleash him.

It's been a while since such rumours actually preceded a bowler worth the hype. And while talk of Joseph's pace might have been slightly exaggerated, there is clearly something about this guy.

Nicking off Steve Smith with your first ball in Test cricket is a pretty good indication you're on to a winner. Even if a career never gets better than that, it's a story worth badgering grandchildren with.

But Joseph's day was a whole lot more than that. It started with the bat, when the reckless abandon of a young man freed from pressure and hopped up on adrenaline caught Australia off guard.

For some reason, he took a particular fancy to the bowling of Josh Hazlewood. While all of his more fancied teammates fell to bits against the newest member of Test cricket's 250 club, Joseph made him look pedestrian.

He was eventually out for 36, with three fours and a six, but the aggression and joy in his batting changed the mood at Adelaide Oval. And later in the afternoon, with just one delivery, Joseph did it again.

There was a certain symbolism in the Smith wicket as this golden generation of Australian cricketers find themselves bumping up against a rising tide.

Shamar Joseph was 10 years old when Smith made his Test debut. While one is moving up and down the batting order, tweaking techniques in a bid to extract every last ounce of his career, the other is only just scratching the surface of the future that awaits.

It might be reading too much into one singular wicket, but in an instant the reality facing Australia became very clear — everything comes to an end, and over the next year or two that sense of finality is only going to grow stronger.

The subplots ensure an otherwise one-sided day of Test cricket remained engaging, as Australia's look on track for the sort of hefty home win that is its stock in trade.

That 10th wicket stand between Joseph and Kemar Roach pushed the Windies up to 188, far more than they looked amassing earlier in the day but still well short of what was required.

With Smith gone, Joseph also picked up Marnus Labuschagne with a searing bouncer that rushed the Australian into a false hook shot. But there were no further breakthroughs, and Australia closed play only 129 runs behind.

It's a painful truth, but this is a series we will probably have to extract our own fun from. This West Indies side is not equipped to go with Australia over the length of a Test match or series, for reasons mostly well beyond its control and which are not unique to it.

But in someone like Shamar Joseph, there is life. It was impossible to watch him and not feel hope for his team and the game at large.