COACH of the West Indies cricket team Phil Simmons met with struggling West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul for a lengthy period last Monday in Barbados, as they discussed his future with the regional side.
The 40-year-old Chanderpaul who is nearing Brian Lara’s mark for the most Test runs by a West Indian, had a miserable tour against England, where he tallied just 92 runs at a lowly average of 15.33 from six innings.
The West Indies went on to win the Test match by five wickets and square the series but there has been calls from some quarters for Chanderpaul to leave before he is pushed out.
T&T Guardian understands that coach Simmons did the responsible thing and called Chanderpaul for a meeting which from all reports went very well. It is unclear what the decision was at the end of the meeting – whether Chanderpaul will call it a day or continue on for the tough series against Australia.
What is keeping his interest in the game is the fact that in his 20th year of Test cricket he is steadily closing in on Brian Lara’s record as the most prolific West Indies batsman. Lara, who played in 131 Test matches between 1990 and 2006 in his illustrious career, amassed 11 953 runs at an average 52.88.
Lara scored 34 centuries and 48 half-centuries during a career in which he twice set the world record for highest individual score in a Test inning – 375 and 400 respectively. Chanderpaul now stands 11 867 runs from 164 matches at an average of 51.37 with 30 centuries and 66 half-centuries. He’s 86 runs shy of taking over Lara’s record.
It is understood that the views of the West Indies selection panel is that it is up to Simmons to make a call on Chanderpaul and the Arima man decided to give the Guyanese his say in the matter because he has been a great servant of West Indies cricket.
Former Test player Philo Wallace recently made his views clear on Chanderpaul saying that he should be given the five home Tests (three against England and two against Australia) and then be properly honoured by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) for his services to the regional team.