When it comes to West Indies batsmen, we talk about the murderous Sir Viv Richards, we see the classic of Brian Lara. Moreover the gigantic figure of Chris Gayle also belongs to the same cricketing fraternity, and the modern days destroyer Andre Russell is taking the proud legacy ahead in some fashion. Overall the West Indian batting industry has always produced fascinating batsmen, who have arrested the world with their voluptuous stroke play.
Though they have been prolific run getters as well, the style of their batting has been the salient feature of them being crowd favorites. One would never mind spending one’s time or money to watch those guys batting in a cricket match.
Among these stylish performers, comes an unappealing performer- Shivnarine Chanderpaul. The left handed batsman from Guyana managed an unusual batting stance and unorthodox technique. Like his countrymen, Chanderpaul was not an eye-catching personality, neither with his posture nor with his strokeplay. He was someone who did his job without any spark in it.
At the end of his Test career, Chanderpaul firmly stood at number 2 in terms of highest run getter for the West Indies in the longest format of the game. His tally of 11867 Test runs was just short of 45 runs to that of Brian Lara’s.
Let’s talk about Chanderpaul’s more accomplishments as a batsman: he stands at number 8 in all time list of highest runs scorers in Test cricket; he stands at number 4 in all time list of left- handed batsmen in Tests; he is second only to Justin Langer in terms of most First class runs among batsmen debuted after 1990. Chanderpaul scored 27545 runs in First Class Cricket.
Take a look at all the breathtaking statistics of Chanderpaul, and think why isn’t Chanderpaul ranked higher on the ladder of greatest Test batsmen in history? Why doesn’t he gain a place in an all time Test eleven most of the time? Why isn’t he regarded among mainstream cricket heroes by cricket fans?
Have you heard the word “late bloomer”? If yes, then Chanderpaul was the one, if no, then we will tell you what that is. Late bloomer is someone who thrives after remaining underachiever for a considerable period of time.
Now let’s see how Chanderpaul was a late bloomer?
Let’s not depend on Chanderpaul’s overall numbers, Instead, split those for purpose. What do we see? His Test average was a modest 44.61 till his 101st Test match, or say till Brian Lara existed. Now that was not staggering stuff by any means. He could not match up with his contemporaries including his team mate Brian Lara. Though Chanderpaul improved remarkably in the latter half of his career, where he averaged in excess of 64 in 63 Tests, he found himself in the bracket of late bloomers.
Now, go through the list of best test batsmen in history, you won’t find any of them having such modest batting average for this long period of time. All great batsmen had had tough times, but Chanderpaul was facing this for more than half of his career. Chanderpaul was, certainly, not running in the main race.
Hence, it seems right on the side of those who excluded him from the list of top batsmen. But there is something that always goes unnoticed about the “unfortunate bloke”. Yes! There is a twist, let’s check out!
Chanderpaul scored 30 Test centuries.
Many know only that. They don’t know how many times Chanderpaul missed the chance to score a Test century, for the reasons he had no control over.
When we peruse Chanderpaul’s statistics, it comes forth that 12 times in his Test career, he was left standing at non-striker's end , with the score between 70 & 99.
Chanderpaul missed many test centuries due to lack of support from the other end. Just feel for a guy who is eyeing his test hundred, but couldn’t reach it, because his team got all-out. Out of those above-mentioned 12 instances, 8 were due to his team bundled out. On other 4 occasions, he sacrificed his hundred to the team cause, as innings declaration was made by the captains.
You would love to know, if there are any other batsmen who have met with such misfortune? So, the answer is NO, because Steve Waugh, the former Australian captain, is the closest to Chanderpaul with 5 such moments in his career.
One can argue that it also helped Chanderpaul to maintain a higher average. But that is only speculation. Who knows Chanderpaul would go not out even after scoring his century. That would have added more to his average, and his century count might reach around 40. That would have been phenomenal stuff.
Now, Chanderpaul scored 11867 Test runs at over 51, with the help of 30 centuries. This is good enough to call him second highest scorer for the West Indies in Test cricket. But, had he been a little lucky, these numbers would have been towering. And Chanderpaul’s career could receive more affinity which it comparatively seeks.
