SHIVNARINE Chanderpaul has finally called it a day; he has retired from international cricket. At age 41 going on 42, he is well past the normal retirement age for contemporary cricketers.
That he is now retiring has a lot to do with his durability and his hunger to play cricket. Some have characterised this as selfishness on his part and have been calling for his exit for quite a while. The truth is that the older Chanderpaul got the better he performed and the worse the team around him played.
So what is Chanderpaul’s legacy to the game he played with much distinction? How will he be remembered? At a broader level, his career coincided with the decline of West Indies fortunes. That cannot be overlooked for cricket is ultimately a team sport. But he is not alone in this regard; he is a contemporary of the great Brian Lara. Should the inability of the team to benefit from the great contributions of these players as far as victories go, be held against them? Maybe there is something to be teased out there, but ultimately a player’s performance cannot be denied.
In many regards, Chanderpaul does not fit easily into the style-sheet of the great West Indian player. As a batsman he was not charismatic; he was not the most flamboyant at the crease, not brutal in his strokeplay or pleasing to the purists’ eye. Instead, he was the patient accumulator of runs who challenged the opposition to work overtime to get his wicket. His resistance was not in his booming drives and intimidating hook shots, but in his precise placement of the ball into the gaps, all the time frustrating the opposition to the point of surrender. His was a war of attrition.
Chanderpaul valued his wicket in an era when most West Indian batsmen could not defend theirs, because they did not understand its larger social and political value. This is his linkage to the great West Indian tradition. Having wrested the initiative from the former masters, the West Indian could not afford to meekly capitulate the next day—the gain must be defended at all cost. For Chanderpaul, therefore, that hard-fought independence must be protected at all cost. That is the great significance of his long stays at the crease, grinding it out, never surrendering without a long fight down to the very end.
Coming from the very poor section of the society, he brought to cricket the value of the convergence of struggle and survival—that’s what the poor do every day. Chanderpaul was the master of that on the cricket field; that’s why he thrived in the midst of disaster. Unlike many around him, he was aware of the place of cricket in his social relevance. Keep your eye on the ball—never lose sight of the ultimate objective of overcoming the trap they have set for you. Defend your wicket, Shiv, because if you do they can never again question the humanity of the social space from which you come. In defending that wicket, Chanderpaul was defending Unity, Guyana, West Indies and the Downpressed. That’s why we all cherished him—the Tiger, our gentle authentic Tiger.
Chanderpaul was the ultimate nationalist. While others left their posts in search of cricket’s Eldorado, he remained loyal to his nation; his Eldorado was to be found in defence of his nation. He represented the West Indies even when the going was tough, when the ship was sinking. That is the true meaning of a committed nationalist. Even when the bosses felt it was time for him to go, he still pleaded for one more day at the office. That legacy will one day be properly appreciated, hopefully not a long way away,
Shivnarine Chanderpaul is Guyana’s special gift to the West Indies and the world. Many know of Guyana because of his persistent presence in the service of our collective search for the recovery of dignity, equality and nationhood. Walk off into the pavilion with your bat and your head held high, for when others faltered and surrendered, you, the son of a fisherman and the formerly indentured, never ever surrendered. In the end you survived, so that your people and your country can smile for themselves and you.
More of Dr. Hinds ‘writings and commentaries can be found on his YouTube Channel Hinds’ Sight: Dr. David Hinds’ Guyana-Caribbean Politics and on his website www.guyanacaribbeanpolitics.com. Send comments to dhinds6106@aol.com
