It has been announced that later this year the University of the West Indies (UWI) will confer an Honorary Doctors of Law on former West Indies Test cricketer Shivnarine Chanderpaul. This prestigious title is in recognition of the yeoman and selfless service this humble son of Guyana would have given to country, the Region and the world through the glorious gentleman’s game of cricket.
What it means to Shiv and the many others across the cricketing globe who are aspiring to emulate him is that hard work does indeed pay off. There is a cliché: the road to success is long and arduous. For Shiv, it has been no different and his success in an extremely competitive sport demonstrates that dreams can be realised even for those whose aspirations may have been shrugged off as an impossible endeavour.
To say that Shiv’s early life in the village of Unity was from humble beginnings may be an understatement. However, his father, having seen the potential in him at a very young age, helped nurtured that talent with the firm belief that one day the efforts would be fruitful.
The long hours spent on the Unity foreshore by father and son with makeshift bats was an integral part of the process of unearthing that talent. That dedication and love of a father to help develop his son’s talent and that belief of a son in his father and himself was not only a special relationship but one that will remain a source of inspiration to all.
Clearly, there must have been challenges in those early years regarding the lack of critical resources for development and realisation of such potential. That didn’t strangle hope as belief and the passion for success were unwavering. From the foreshore to the playing field of Shiv’s first game as part of a team would not have only been something of profound joy and pride, but the beginning of a long journey for the realisation of the bigger dream.
Everyone dreams, but not everyone gets to realise his/her dreams. With the passage of time, thousands of Guyanese were able to witness first-hand and to share the moment when Shiv’s dream of playing for the West Indies cricket team was realised in March 1994 against England aptly in Guyana at the famous Bourda Ground. As he walked out to bat, he was given a rapturous Guyanese welcome through sustained thunderous applause.
It was a moment in history as Guyanese from diverse groups united in unbridled pride to welcome a son to Test cricket. Uniting a multiethnic country might not have been foremost on their minds while on the foreshore, but ironically and maybe not coincidently, the boy from Unity joined that prestigious list of countrymen, who, through their participation and exploits in the game, united a nation with a troubled history.
What years after became troubling for him and fans across the world was the manner in which he left the West Indies team having become only the third player with an international career that spanned over two decades behind Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya. During that career, he ended up playing the most Test matches (164) for a West Indian player and becoming the second highest Test run scorer in the Region (11,867 runs) just 86 behind Brian Lara.
Currently, he is number eight in the world in terms of the most Test runs. In 2008, he was named one of the five cricketers of the year and was awarded the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy. Many felt, that given his invaluable contributions to West Indies cricket, he should have been allowed to continue a bit longer and be given a fitting and deserved send-off as many of his competitors would have received from their teams.
The lack of that expected send-off irked many not the least Shiv. Brian Lara subsequently said, “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 [about] and unfortunately that did not happen. That guy with the most Test matches for the West Indies, playing for over 20 years, I don’t think people in the West Indies understand exactly his contribution.”
Lara’s sentiments reflected those of fans. The UWI’s announcement is, therefore, not only welcomed and timely but fitting for a man who, through the unifying force of cricket, brought an entire Region of various countries together. That contribution will remain priceless and will echo in the future and throughout history.
That boy who walked out on that sunny morning in March at Bourda while fidgeting at his gear realised not just his dreams, but those of a nation that yearned for unity even if it was momentarily. This continues through the CPL as evident as Guyanese rallied around the Guyana Amazon Warriors through packed crowds at the Providence Stadium a few days ago in a continuous journey from Shiv to Shimron (Hetmyer).
