Shiv – The odd man ‘out’

To start with, Shiv always happened to be the odd man out. In a team dominated by brawn and brash, Shiv was all about brain and finesse. In a team characterised with cranky hair cuts, Shiv came across as a cricketer with the Mr. Perfect look.  While most of his compatriots were as tall as an Oak tree, Shiv was diminutive measuring 1.73m. While his teammates had a fantasy for fancy goggles, Shiv preferred a ‘cheek’y anti-glare strips under his eyes.

The biggest difference between Shiv and the rest was obviously his unique stance.

And he batted, batted and batted….

Probably Chanderpaul took a cue out of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s words when it comes to batting in the middle: ‘Men may come and men may go, But I go on forever’.. And he batted batted and batted……

Ask the English bowlers of the last decade. By now they know the width, weight and edge of Shiv’s blade much better than the man himself. Thank god, English were the lawmakers of the game. For they had predicted a phenomenon termed ‘Shiv’ and ruled out the possibility of the last man playing alone!

But the Aussies are aware of the Chanderpaul who can score hurricane hundreds. And the Indians know, get Chanderpaul and you are half way through the Windies.

Like Sachin-Dravid for India, it was always Lara-Chanderpaul for West Indies. Lara inflicted severe pain on the opposition but a dodgy Chanderpaul made the bowlers beg for instant death rather than slow poison.  

While most batsmen talk about taking it over by over, it was always hours or days with Chanderpaul. The very sight of him marking his guard with bails would send shivers through the spine of every fan of the opposition team.  Maybe the English crowd knows it better.

The striking aspect of his career was he was the only one in the Windies scoring runs consistently ever since Lara’s exit. Shiv wasn’t just making the opposition fall on their knees with his gritty batting. He was a ruthless finisher in ODIs. Still Chaminda Vaas would recollect his low full toss sailing over Mahela Jayawardene’s head over deep mid-wicket for a last ball six. And on numerous occasions he had seen his team home with the lower middle-order for company.

For a man who had began his career with the likes of Carl Hooper, Brian Lara, Jimmy Adams, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, Chanderpaul’s ability to adapt to every format he had played and cater to the needs of the team successfully despite the team’s failure makes him a cricketer apart.

Like it has been with Sachin, Dravid, Laxman and a lot of legends of the game, age has caught up with Shiv and it is telling on his batting form. The southpaw who remained largely unbeaten and unconquered seems to be finally dismissed.

The cricketing world, it seems, will never witness the smiling Guyanese running in from fine leg to leap tall for a high five with a West Indian bowler again.