There was a certain unflinching quality to Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s batting.
In an era of West Indies cricket dominated by the brilliance and aura of Brian Lara, the left-handed Guyanese quietly carved a niche of his own. He may have often lived in Lara’s shadow, but Chanderpaul’s contribution to West Indies cricket was substantial enough to stand on its own.
He was one of those rare batters who put a very high price on his wicket.
Across a Test career that stretched from 1994 to 2015, Chanderpaul accumulated 11,867 runs. More than 6,800 of those came from the No. 5 position, with 5,140 arriving through boundaries. He batted in 280 Test innings for the West Indies, more than anyone else in the history of the team, and faced an extraordinary 27,395 deliveries.
Those numbers tell only part of the story.
Chanderpaul finished his Test career unbeaten 49 times. Seventeen of his Test centuries were unbeaten hundreds — a reflection of a batsman whose first instinct was often to remain there, hold an end and keep the West Indies cause alive.
And he often did so alone.
Perhaps the best illustration of his remarkable appetite for occupying the crease came against India in 2002.
Chanderpaul spent 1,513 minutes at the crease between dismissals, becoming the only international player to repeat the feat of spending more than 1,000 minutes between dismissals four times in his career.
On another remarkable occasion against India, he faced 1,051 consecutive deliveries without being dismissed.
India, in fact, brought out the best in him. He scored seven Test hundreds against them and averaged north of 60. His highest score of 140 came twice. Against South Africa, Australia and England, too, he registered five Test centuries apiece.
He was not merely a survivor. He could be devastating.
A 69-ball Test hundred against Australia remains a reminder of the attacking talent tucked away inside that resolute exterior.
And in the famous chase of 408 against Australia in 2003-04, Chanderpaul was involved in a crucial century partnership with fellow Guyanese Ramnaresh Sarwan as the West Indies completed what was then a world-record fourth-innings chase.
Interestingly, the numbers after Lara’s retirement perhaps tell the story even better. With Lara in the side, Chanderpaul averaged 44 in Tests and scored 12 centuries. After Lara left, his Test average rose to 61 and he added 18 more centuries. He even played 63 Tests after Lara had retired.
Longevity, resilience, courage and an almost instinctive understanding of how to value his wicket defined Chanderpaul.
The technique was special — the kind that cannot really be taught, only emulated, and even then not too easily.
The appetite for runs was enormous. The commitment to the team, greater still.
Georgetown, Guyana, has a street named Shiv Chanderpaul Drive in his honour.
Perhaps it is fitting.
For more than two decades, Shivnarine Chanderpaul was one of the roads West Indies cricket could travel on when the going got tough.
The big question, for the current generation is, if they can draw inspiration from one of the most selfless cricketers who’s ever walked on that difficult terrain where though it gets lonely, there’s glory in that you end up standing up for your team. The collective. The wonderful unifying force in world cricket that is West Indies cricket!
