AT 40 YEARS of age, dependable West Indies middle- order batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s appetite to score has grown tremendously, that he has now passed the lat Sir Donald Bradman on the all time list of Test centuries, having chalked up his 30th Test ton against Bangladesh in the second and final Dhaka Bank Test match which was played in St. Kitts recently.While he possesses the crabbiest technique in world cricket, at age 40 he is still dominating the game and his most recent Test innings saw him become the first 40-year-old to score a Test century since Graham Gooch 20 years ago, and the first West Indian to do so since Clive Lloyd.
More appropriate for Chanderpaul, is that he did it during the playing of the 500th Test match for the West Indies in which they capped their 300th player in Chanderpaul’s Georgetown Cricket Club teammate, Leon Johnson.
The phenomenal Guyanese has had an unbelievable run against Bangladesh, counting scores of 59 not out, 203 not out, 1, 150 not out, 85 not out, 84 not out and 101 not out, which gives him an average of 682 against them in the last two series.
To this end, the Georgetown Softball Cricket League Inc. wishes to join with all the other entities in extending heartfelt congratulations to Chanderpaul on his recent feats in the Test arena, even as the GSCL Inc., their executives and affiliated teams wish Chanderpaul all the best for the future.
“Chanderpaul’s feats against Bangladesh were certainly heroics in more ways than one, as it not only help the West Indies to win the match, but also give them a morale boosting series victory over the Bangladeshis, ahead of their tough engagement against India, where he can attempt to surpass Brian Lara’s record” added the GSCL Inc. via a press release.
To date, Chanderpaul has played 158 Test matches and scored 11,684 runs at an average of 53.10, with 30 centuries and 65 half centuries, which puts him above Australian greats Steve Waugh and Allan Border on the all-time run-scorers list, and one ahead of Sir Donald Bradman in terms of hundreds scored.
“Thanks Shiv, you truly are a ‘Tiger’ on the prowl for runs on the cricket field and while the world rejoice at your feats as you entertained them from series to series whilst playing for the West Indies, we at the GSCL Inc. feel pleased to call you our own, since you are a son of the soil.”