A FIRST face-to-face meeting with overseas signing Shivnarine Chanderpaul left Derbyshire chairman Chris Grant more excited than ever about the arrival of the West Indies star at the County Ground.
Grant, head coach Karl Krikken and captain Wayne Madsen met with Chanderpaul at the West Indies team’s hotel in Bridgetown and took the chance to discuss the Derbyshire players, the way they play their cricket and details of his stay in Derby.
“It was great to see him in the flesh and the first thing that strikes you about him is the energy and the zest the guy still has for his cricket,” said Grant.”He was remarkably well informed about Derbyshire and was already talking about bowlers from other counties he has faced and how we prepare to face them.
“He is still a huge student of the game – practice, practice, practice. He’s even had a floodlit net installed at his home in Orlando so he can practise for playing under lights.
“He said to us ‘the guy upstairs never sleeps and you get out what you put in’ and, hopefully, that attitude will rub off positively on our lads.
“It was also nice to share a few thoughts about the ground development we’ve got in mind because he does remember the windy County Ground and was a bit concerned about the difference in temperature!
“All round, it was inspirational to meet him and a couple of hours very well spent.”