The Great Chanderpaul

It is getting to be something of a habit, writing about Shivnarine Chanderpaul in these leader columns. But the man, for whom run making is itself an acquired behaviour pattern, continues to defy bowling attacks around the world and the passage of time, as he keeps churning out the runs, even at the age of 38 and after 148 Test matches.

Chanderpaul has just scored his 28th Test century, against Zimbabwe, two above Garfield Sobers and six behind Brian Lara among West Indians. His Test aggregate now stands at 10,830 runs; again second only to Lara among West Indians. That he has scored so many runs is obviously related to his longevity and the number of matches he has played, but it is well worth emphasising that his average is now 51.81, a more reliable indicator of his productivity than any other statistic. Of West Indians to have played more than 20 Tests, only the legends, George Headley, Everton Weekes, Sobers, Clyde Walcott and Lara enjoy higher averages. Moreover, since 2005, Chanderpaul has averaged 61, making a mockery of conventional notions of the rise and fall of a batsman’s career over time. In addition, he has held the number one ranking in Test cricket on three occasions, in 2008, 2009 and 2012, and is, currently, still among the world’s elite, holding steady at number three.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been likened to various members of the animal kingdom: ugly duckling, crab and tiger come to mind. He has been described as stubborn, obdurate, single-minded, dogged, gritty, determined, brave, consistent, disciplined, dependable and, immoveable. And the list goes on in the same vein. But, in spite of his record-breaking accomplishments, there are still those who would withhold the adjective “great,” somehow finding ways to qualify their praise of a man who bats like no other of the acknowledged greats of West Indies cricket.

During the last Test match against Zimbabwe, Tony Cozier, the doyen of West Indian cricket commentators, aired his personal view that Chanderpaul could not be ranked among the greats of West Indies cricket because he had not played enough match-winning innings. One cannot help but feel that this is an unbecoming and surprisingly churlish opinion, given the well-known weaknesses of the teams in which Chanderpaul has played and the fact that no one would dare level such an accusation against George Headley, an indisputably great batsman who alone could not raise West Indies teams of generally modest talent to win consistently.

Let us be clear: we are not saying that Chanderpaul is as great a batsman as Headley was, but in both cases, context is critical. Since the retirement of Lara, Chanderpaul has been the one world-class Test batsman in the West Indies team, whose match-saving innings alone should merit the accolade of “great.”

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A Symbol of Honour and Excellence – Shivnarine Chanderpaul

By Neil Kumar
[dropcap]G[/dropcap]uyana and West Indies cricket legend, Shivnarine Chanderpaul continues to perform brilliantly at all levels of the game. In 2012, he maintained the standards that had been set throughout his amazing cricket career for both Guyana and West Indies.

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