WEST Indies and Guyana cricket stalwart Shivnarine Chanderpaul prolonged his international career when he registered a face-saving century against ICC top-ranked India during the third and final Test played at Tests’ newest venue, Windsor Park in Roseau, Dominica.
The unbeaten 116 by Chanderpaul was a monumental effort that lasted 501 minutes during West Indies second innings which enabled the home team to recover and establish a lead of 179 runs, which proved challenging after the tourists had lost three early wickets and forced the abandonment of the victory chase for a drawn result.
Just for the record, West Indies were bowled out for 204 in the first innings while India amassed 347, a lead of 143.
In the second innings, West Indies found themselves in serious trouble losing both openers Adrian Barath (6) and debutant Kieron Powell (4) as well as exciting strokeplayer Darren Bravo (14) with only 40 runs on the board.
Chanderpaul joined debutant Kirk Edwards and together they fashioned a heroic 161-run fourth-wicket partnership that changed the game and eventually denied the Indian team victory.
The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Indian team were seeking to win the three-match Test series by a bigger margin after they won the First Test at Sabina Park by 40 runs. The rain-affected Second Test at Bridgetown was a drawn affair.
There was much relief for West Indian supporters who have endured so much over the last decade. Skipper Darren Sammy and the WI team must also have felt relieved of not tasting another defeat.
The plucky display and regular mid-pitch conversation with Chanderpaul was an inspiration for Edwards whose confidence soared and his strokeplay became more convincing as he entered his name into the record books by registering a century in his maiden Test.
Edwards, who had replaced the out-of-form Ramnaresh Sarwan, scored 110 and batted six minutes short of five hours. He smashed one six and nine fours off 195 balls but it was Chanderpaul’s 501 minutes of defiance that saved the match and his international career.
The reliable left-hander struck only five fours off 343 balls and remained unbeaten when West Indies second innings closed at 322, providing a lead of 179 runs.
Chanderpaul was warmly applauded by all the spectators and officials when he reached the triple-figure mark. He described his 23rd Test century as one of his best during his 133-Test career and his magnificent fighting knock earned him national recognition by Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit who declared the Guyanese a citizen of his country.
The 36-year-old Guyanese who became West Indies most capped player in Test cricket explained the difficulty he faced in carving one of his finest Test century. He said: “I would say this was one my best because of the situation of the team when I went in to bat and the way the game was going.
To be batting on a fifth-day pitch and the way the ball was bouncing and turning – some would grip and bounce and you weren’t always sure which way the ball would go. You had to be very patient and very watchful and careful.”
He stressed the difficulty in batting and the mental strain experienced during his ultra-marathon century-effort. He said: “You couldn’t play as freely as you would have liked to so I had to use all my skills, and it took a lot of mental effort as well. Also, Dhoni (captain) blocked up all the areas where you had scoring opportunities and it was a lot of hard work. It was really tough out there.”
Chanderpaul’s place in a West Indies team for the 2011 International season in the Caribbean was not guaranteed. The omission of Christopher Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chanderpaul from the One-Day squad selected for the Pakistan series raised doubts about their future at the highest level.
Chanderpaul shocked the cricketing world when he had to fight his case through the media which highlighted the predicament and troubles he experienced from coach Otis Gibson and other team officials who challenged and wanted him to change his style of batting and his attitude to the game.
Realising that the selectors and other officials were out to end his career prematurely and without fanfare, the pugnacious Chanderpaul, for the first time, went on the offensive off the field. He found millions of sympathisers who felt that he was put under too much stress and duress by the coach whose methods were being questioned openly.
Those of us who follow the game closely recognised that something was drastically amiss with the way the West Indies team has been performing in the last couple of years. We were also left surprised at some of the various teams’ compositions for various tournaments without proper explanations.
But to install the under-performing Darren Sammy as captain for two full home series, following the debacle at the 2011 ICC World Cup, caused much consternation and stirred much debate in the region and afar.
I recalled making an important observation during the media launch of the GT&T 10/10 Competition at the Conference Centre, Lilliendaal that Government officials and other personalities need to stand up for their players when they are being ignored and pressured by certain people who have their own agenda.
And I was happy to see that both the President of Guyana, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo and Guyana’s Minister of Youth, Culture and Sport, Dr Frank Anthony, who were present at the launch, felt compelled to stand up to the ill-treatment and injustice of their countrymen. Both came out strongly in support of Chanderpaul and Sarwan. Also the current secretary of the Guyana Cricket Board, Anand Sanasie, who is a director on the WICB defied accepted norms and also made his views felt.
Sanasie, like President Jagdeo and Dr Anthony, was against the treatment meted out to the two Guyanese who had featured prominently for West Indies during the last decade.
Since 2009, there were rumours that certain WICB officials wanted Chanderpaul to resign from international cricket, a view and opinion that has been flawed and reeks of distorted judgment.
I should point out that West Indies and Guyana’s Clive Lloyd and Barbadian opener Gordon Greenidge, both legendary figures, registered Test centuries in their 39th and 40th year respectively.
And since Lloyd and Greenidge celebrated their 40th birthday as Test cricketers, there is no reason to doubt that Chanderpaul who will celebrate his 37th birthday on August 16 cannot accomplish such a great feat himself.
Chanderpaul has been the backbone and mainstay of West Indies batting for many years. And his heroic century in Dominica, not only prolonged his international career, but also silenced the doubters and other cynics whose judgment must be questioned and who were hoping that he failed.
However, he cannot just bask in the glory of another important Test hundred but he needs to keep fit and to continue his prolific run-getting form in other matches so that he will be able to respond to the challenges that lay ahead.
Chanderpaul has been the mainstay of West Indies batting and the team needs his solidity, defiance and inspirational qualities to surmount tougher assignments in future.