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Shiv has just hit his 10,000th run and Cricinfo wanted someone to pay tribute to him. Being as we named him not just Lord Megachief of Gold, but Grand Lord Megachief of Gold, we were well-placed to pass comment.
For some reason, our idea of a tribute is to describe his ugly batting in about 11 different ways.
There were actually a few things we didn’t get round to mentioning in that column (we could probably write about 30,000 words on the subject of Shivnarine Chanderpaul so we weren’t struggling to meet the word count). One was that despite losing almost every match, he still ploughs on, maintaining the same high standards.
That particular feat of endurance is perhaps more remarkable than any individual innings. Most people would have long ago grown despairing and careless in the face of what he has endured as a sportsman, yet he is willing to spend long, long hours at the crease for no real reward. It’s quite astonishing really.
Anyway, here’s our Cricinfo tribute to Shiv.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul is the second highest run scorer in test defeats ever. He has more runs in test defeats than either Frank Worrell or Clyde Walcott scored in their entire test careers. At its best, sport is a mirror of life, and who else could have possibly done more to demonstrate the utter futility of existence than Chanderpaul.
That genuinely gets quite close to the heart of why we feel so strongly about him.
In answer to you non-question Bert: Lara – who has scored more runs in defeat than Chanderpaul.
Good table that one – most runs in defeats: Tendulkar third and Alec Stewart fourth. Stewart embodies England’s 1990s misery. I do miss Ceefax.
Oooh, close DC. In fact, the answer to the unasked question in my comment was “1936, in Lahore, with an elephant.” And yes, the elephant did die as a result.
It is a good list though, as you rightly say. It contains a mix of good players in crap teams, and genuinely great players whove scored so many runs that they are simply going to be on any list where most runs is a criterion. Most runs scored in overcast conditions – Tendulkar. Most runs scored before tiffin – Tendulkar. Most runs scored while suffering from piles – Dravid.
On another note Can somebody express what this arm straightening and bent arm mean…in lay man terms.Think King cricket is best suited for this !!!
Related article
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304811304577365540073185280.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
He really should get a pair of pads and a helmet which fit him. Perhaps they don’t make his size in the carribean.
Not wanting to ego-rub too much, but I read that tribute before I was linked to it here. My principal thought was, ‘This is really rather quite good’.
Shiv’s career in test cricket to date almost exactly overlaps mine as a spectator and, while appreciating the extent to which this is misguided, he will be my benchmark for batting until the day I die.
i love him. simple.
He was my favorite player and no doubt that in West Indian cricket after Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul was one of the greatest cricket in their history.
Shiv is the reason I bothered buying tickets to Day 4 of the WI Test at Lords. With any luck I will be watching England bowl all day whilst he leads a brilliant but ultimately hopeless rearguard action, before being the 10th wicket to fall at 6pm.