By Francis Quamina Farrier
IN this the august month of August 2022, we are taking a historic and august look at portions of the careers of two Guyanese West Indies Test cricketers who were born in August. Sir Clive Hubert Lloyd was born in Georgetown on August 31, 1944. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, CCH, was born 30 years later at Unity on the East Coast, Demerara, Region four, on August 16, 1974. Both cricket celebrities are, in fact, household names in Guyana and beyond. Since it is now the middle of August 2022, the decision was taken to feature these two August-born Guyanese, who are former active cricketing stalwarts in this August feature article in this year 2022.

As an August-born cricketer, Sir Clive Lloyd set the bar extremely high for all other Guyanese and others who had to follow in the “gentleman’s game” of cricket. During his captaincy of the West Indies, the six-foot-four Lloyd, took the West Indies on a winning streak of 27 wins without a single loss, earning Clive Lloyd the distinction of being regarded as the most successful Test Captain of all time. He headed the West Indies to a level when it was described as “The most fearsome and feared team in the world.”
Nonetheless, the younger cricketing genius, five-foot-eight, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, when given the opportunity, did not fail. He stepped up to the plate – or rather, to the pitch – displaying his batting prowess with the kind of grit which won the hearts of so many cricketing fans both locally and globally, during his many years as an active professional cricketer, which he commenced at age 19. His professional career commenced playing for the West Indies in a match against England on March 17, 1994. It concluded in a match also against England on May 1, 2015, with a total of 164 Test matches to his credit.

Many citizens of Georgetown, and Guyana at large, have seen Lloyd and Chanderpaul, extremely talented cricketers, do marvels and even miracles of sorts on the cricket field while taking strike. Sir Clive was a joy to behold as, with bat in hand, he did marvellous performances while at the crease, dispatching many balls to the boundary for “Four” and “Six.”

An English commentator once described Lloyd as he was leaving the pavilion to take strike at the wicket; “He is now heading to the crease, striding like a leopard going gently after its prey, and with the sole purpose of devouring it.” Clive Lloyd always showed gentlemanly conduct both on and off the field. He was and still is, an August month class act and a magnificent role model for youngsters involved in cricket and other sports. Those who attempt to establish that there are no positive role models for youngsters in Guyana are probably living under the Bourda Ground-size Shea Rock located in the South Rupununi Savannah in Region Nine.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul is also most certainly a role model for younger Guyanese who look up to him as their cricket hero. Crowds roared with joy whenever “Shiv” sent a ball which was delivered to him, diving to the boundary for “FOUR” and more so for “SIX.” Both Lloyd and Chanderpaul were crowd favourites during their active careers playing cricket at the highest level of the game and never let the side down, delivering many sensational boundaries.

Following the great Sir Clive Lloyd’s magnificent cricketing career, so many years later, the younger August-born Shivnarine Chanderpaul has also done many great performances on the cricket field both at home and abroad.

Sir Clive Lloyd has gained universal respect and admiration not only for his exploits on the cricket field but also for how he conducts himself on the world “field”. He has put his stamp, as it were, and made his country Guyana, respected near and far. In his book “Living for Cricket” which was published in 1973, he lays bare his dedication to the game of cricket and the way in which he was so successful. That book is welcome reading not only for cricket fans but anyone interested in aspects of the history of the game of cricket, especially in the Caribbean.

Some years ago, when I arrived at the Sydney International Airport and presented my Republic of Guyana passport to the immigration officer, he held that passport aloft and calling out to one of his colleagues, asked, “When last have you seen one of these? Clive Lloyd’s country.” Yes, “Clive Lloyd’s country”. And how proud I was of entering Australia with such fan-fare due to the respect that immigration officer had for my fellow Guyanese, Sir Clive Lloyd. He had made the Guyana brand indelible and something of international respect. As such, my entry into the island continent of Australia was like the strike of a hit by Lloyd over the Bourda Cricket Ground fence, and on to Regent Road. That Australian immigration officer dispatched me quickly and with professional pleasantries. That was certainly because I was a citizen of “Clive Lloyd’s country.”

The younger, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, was also a cricketing diplomat making the country of his birth further known and respected worldwide. Following in the path of Lloyd, Chanderpaul has shown that he is also a Guyanese cricketing diplomat, displaying the kind of interaction with cricketers from other countries wherever he met them. It is that established Guyanese friendliness for which Guyana is well-known and admired.