There’s the old saw about the prophet not being recognised in his own country; which, if truth be told, applies to every field of endeavour. Why is that so?? Familiarity breeds contempt?? Jealousy?? Well, whatever the reasons, our local cricketer Shivnarine Chanderpaul has certainly not been given the recognition he deserves for his contribution to cricket in Guyana and the West Indies.
Sure, there’s that sliver of a street in front of the Office of the President that’s named after him – Shiv Chanderpaul Drive – and ends near Bourda. It was at Bourda that he made his Test debut in 1994 as a slight sliver of a boy of 19 against England – as a replacement for the injured local smoothie Carl Hooper. He batted at number 6 and made 62 in a match that was eventually drawn. He went on to score over 11,867 runs in a two-decade-long career that, more than anything else, showed the West Indies the meaning of “true grit”.
He was never the flashy player like, say, Brian Lara, whom he partnered when the latter broke Sobers’s record for the most runs scored in a Test – an even 400 – over in Antigua against England in 2004. During that knock, he displayed his uncanny maturity as he literally steadied his senior comrade towards his goal.
His lifetime performance is even more extraordinary when it’s considered he played in a declining WI team and invariably played on as wickets tumbled around him. While he’s been characterised as a dour, stolid, defensive player, it’s forgotten he was picked as an attacking player after his exploits the year before as an under-19 player touring England.
His style was an adaptation to the exigencies of playing in a team with a brittle middle order: he literally had to “hold the fort” whenever he stepped to the crease. He did score the third fastest Test century at Bourda, not exactly a “fast” pitch. His exit from Test Cricket was mired in controversy, since he was on the cusp of eclipsing Brian Lara’s record overall Test runs of 11,953 – 86 runs away – when he was unceremoniously dropped. But more disrespectfully, he was not allowed a “farewell” tour.
As Lara wrote, “I was very disappointed that Shiv was not allowed a couple of more Test matches, not necessarily to break the record, but to have a proper send-off. Something I think he is very disappointed and unfortunately that did not happen.” But, finally, he was been given the recognition he deserves when he was inducted this week into the ICC Hall of Fame.
If WI are ever to even hope of regaining their once dominant role in world cricket, they should take a page out of Chanderpaul’s playbook!!
…of a polarised America
Well, by the time you read this, the final results of the American mid-terms would’ve been declared. Even though Guyanese have been trekking to the States in numbers for over five decades, this is the FIRST time their “midterm” elections appeared on our radar!! Meaning that midway in their presidential four-year term, they hold elections for a number of Governors, Senators, Congressmen/women, Attorneys General etc. No need to rehash what brought on this newfound awareness, eh?
As far as our locals are concerned, the biggest change is that while the Republicans didn’t generate their “Red Wave” to drown the Democrats, they yet captured control of the House of Representatives!! And why is this important locally?? Well, the PNC’s claim to US relevance was Congressman Jeffries’ supposedly poised to succeed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi!! This is a big deal, Budday!! Never mind Letitia James winning her NY AG post…there ain’t much she can do to influence anybody – in NY or GY!!
What say those now, who were riding Jeffries coattails??
…of PNC’s irrelevance
It appears that the times are a changin’! The PPP keeps harvesting support in “traditional” PNC constituencies while PNC leaders keep shooting themselves in the foot!!
Boycotting the decriminalisation of small quantities of marijuana…really??
