Shivnarine Chanderpaul is not an easy batsman to dismiss. In the second innings of the 2014 Test match against Bangladesh at Gros Islet on St Lucia, he made 101 runs without being dismissed. In the first innings, he was 84 not out at the end. In his only innings of the first Test of the series, he made 85 not out. It is perfectly reasonable to say that Bangladesh are not the strongest of oppositions, but Chanderpaul has been playing like this for years: at Lord’s in 2004, as his team-mates were giving up around him, he recorded unbeaten scores of 128 and 97. Batting at number five behind Brian Lara, he ground down the bowlers with his patience and concentration rather than elegant stroke-making.
Chanderpaul is, in every possible sporting definition of the word, a veteran of West Indies Test cricket. Of the eleven players who featured for the West Indies in that 2004 Test at Lord’s, hew was the only one who played in Gros Islet. He is now 40 years old, and in the form of his life. It is worrying for anyone involved with the future of the West Indies Test team at heart that their most important batsman can be only a year or two away from retirement, at most.
And yet, Chanderpaul has frequently been accused of selfishness. Some have accused him of batting for himself, and not for the team. However, his defensive outlook is an extremely useful quality in a team notoriously prone to batting collapses. On many occasions, Chanderpaul has been the West Indies’ rock in their toughest times: disputes between the WICB and the players have ravaged the squad, and a number of promising young players who had been groomed to replace the likes of Lara, failed to push on. He is not an attractive, elegant or attacking batsman in the mould of Lara, Viv Richards or Garfield Sobers: he is unique, and just because he doesn’t remind you of other West Indian greats does not mean he doesn’t deserve his place among them.
Chanderpaul’s batting style is not the only reason people have accused him of selfishness. In 2012, Brian Lara criticised his former team-mate for not moving up the batting order from number five to assume a more senior role. ESPNcricinfo’s senior correspondent, George Dobell, echoed those criticisms, arguing that Kirk Edwards, who batted at number three during that tour, did not have the technique to bat that high up, especially in English conditions. Dobell was correct about Edwards, but wrong about Chanderpaul. In the recently concluded Indian tour of England, the technical problems of the Indian top order were devastatingly exposed by the new-ball skills of James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Their top four had no prior experience of batting in English conditions, and Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli, widely hailed as the perfect replacements for Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar respectively, were torn apart. Chanderpaul is still performing a vital role for the West Indies in Tests batting at five, but by giving young players the opportunity to gain experience in the higher positions, he is preparing the side for the time when he won’t be around any more.
Another criticism levelled by Dobell against Chanderpaul was his record of being involved in run-outs. As of 2012, Chanderpaul had been involved in 23 run-outs in Test cricket, and he had been the man dismissed on only three of those occasions. On the face of it, this suggests that he has left his batting partners high and dry, making sure of his own safety above the safety of his team-mates.
However, it is important to remember that his wicket is more vital to the fortunes of the team than almost any other batsman. The reputation of Chanderpaul’s erstwhile West Indies team-mate Marlon Samuels has never recovered from being the person who ran out Brian Lara in his final international innings in 2007. If a player were to run out Shivnarine Chanderpaul at a key moment in a Test now, the damage to the West Indies’ chances would be more severe than losing Brian Lara in an ODI. While the best interests of an individual player don’t always tally with the interests of the team, in this case Chanderpaul’s wicket is as valuable to the team as it is to him.
There is a lot to admire and respect about the calm and unflappable way Chanderpaul goes about his cricket. When he reaches 50, he politely raises his bat to acknowledge the applause, but he’s not celebrating. For a man who averages nearly 53 in Test cricket, a half-century is no great achievement, it’s a standard.
When India won the 2011 World Cup, it was dedicated to Sachin Tendulkar. Virat Kohli made an emotional and eloquent speech: “Sachin Tendulkar has carried Indian cricket on his shoulders for 21 years. So it was fitting we carried him on his shoulders after this win.” Tendulkar had contributed just eighteen runs to the run-chase, but Kohli was telling him, that’s okay. You don’t have to do this alone. We have learnt so much from you, now we will support you. Chanderpaul has carried West Indian cricket on his shoulders for twenty years. He is still carrying West Indian cricket on his shoulders. He will continue to carry the team on his shoulders until he retires.
If Shivnarine Chanderpaul were a selfish person, he’d be sipping cocktails on a beach somewhere and posting photos of himself on Instagram. He’d have retired years ago from the drama and grief of WICB disputes, maybe played a year or two of T20 franchise cricket, possibly a coaching contract or two, then an easy retirement; dividing his time between the beach, fine restaurants, the golf course and the commentary box. Shivnarine Chanderpaul may well have selfish aspects to his game, but that is because he knows his immense value to his team: he cannot, however, be called a selfish person.
Thank you for reading. Follow me on Twitter – @NickSharland. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and@LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page. Follow LastWordOnCricket on Twitter – @LWOSCricket.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for? GO!
Are you interested in writing about Cricket? LWOS is looking for passionate Cricket fans to get their views heard by thousands. Have a look at our WriteForUs page for more information.
