By Tony Cozier
It was entirely apt that Shivnarine Chanderpaul should have marked the week when his frequently unappreciated worth was recognised by two notable awards with performances that guided the West Indies to two successive, significant victories.
Just a few days before he and the brilliant Ramnaresh Sarwan steered the team to the unlikely winning target of 253 with their partnership of 153 in the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Queen’s Park Oval, Chanderpaul had been showered with honours by his peers of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), an organisation with which his relations have not always been cordial.
That was followed by another, even more internationally prestigious tribute, his selection as one of the five cricketers of the year by the game’s oldest and most respected publication, the Wisden Almanack.
Such accolades were long overdue. Perhaps it’s because of his fidgety, eccentric, spreadeagled stance and his functional method.
Perhaps it’s his quiet, unpretentious manner. Or a career spent in the shadow of Brian Lara, the player described by Mike Atherton last week as “one of the
finest entertainers to have played in this or any other era.”
Whatever the reasons, Chanderpaul’s quality has always been undervalued, in spite of an impressive record in 14 years of international cricket, a sport that places great store on statistics.
