Former West Indies batsman and captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been signed by English County Club Lancashire (on Friday), after his amazing run with the bat in the last season – he scored 819 runs at an average of 50+.
Lancashire finished 2nd in Division One – their highest position since their title victory way back in 2011, and Chanderpaul had a lot to do with the club’s success, scoring three centuries; all in crucial games. The Guyanese left-hander turned 43 in August, but he’s clearly fit to keep going. And keep scoring…
Chanderpaul was one of the most respected batsmen in world cricket, having an international career spanning over 20 years, and having played 164 test matches – not many have played more than that. After his test debut in 1994, Chanderpaul last played for the Windies in 2015.
He was known for his unorthodox batting stance, and also for being the first person to advertise sponsors on his body (face). This legendary Windies batsman amassed 11,867 test runs – 7th on the all-time test runs scorers list and only behind Brian Lara when it comes to runs for his country.
He also scored 30 test centuries – 12th on the all-time list and these stats just speak for themselves, retiring from international cricket in 2016 with an average of 51.37. His talents are now being used since 2010 in the English County circuit, and Lancashire have just renewed his contract for another year.
In the County circuit, Shiv has also played with Durham, Warwickshire and Derbyshire, but it seems like he will be with Lancashire until retirement, which shouldn’t be too far away now. The veteran player has also batted with his 21-year old son Tagenarine, and they’ve both hit fifties in the same match.
The evergreen southpaw was extremely pleased to keep playing for Lancashire, and said he was eager to continue contributing to the team and continue imparting his knowledge to the next generation of cricketers in the squad.
Chanderpaul International debut: 1994
Chanderpaul's son birth year: 1996
Now both of them scord fifty in same first class match
Legend?
— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) March 12, 2017
West Indies are currently ranked #8 on the ICC Test Rankings, which brings me to my question for today – why don’t the Windies give the experienced Shiv Chanderpaul a recall to the test squad? Leave your comments and let me know what you feel.
Find similar content in our Cricket Scoops section.
