Why Chanderpaul Should Play

John Updike, the great American novelist and poet, wrote, in his highly acclaimed tribute to baseball hitting legend Ted Williams, that retirement “was a little death that awaits all athletes.” Well, it appears that West Indies batting great Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 43, an age at which most of those who bat for a living have long hung up their helmets, has no intention of dying that little death anytime soon.

To be fair to the left-hander, it’s not as if he has one foot in the grave, or that he has given anyone the impression that he’s on his last legs. The runs are still gushing, and he is as steady and as solid and as difficult to dislodge as ever.

He struck three hundreds this last county season for Lancashire and was seventh in the division-one batting averages with a very commendable 51.93. Unlike Kumar Sangakarra, however, who at 40 decided to retire after scoring eight hundreds and averaging over 106 for Surrey, Chanderpaul has signed on to return to Lancashire for the 2018 season.

Now that he is back home in the Caribbean, the great batsman, always up for a game of cricket, has decided to make himself available to represent his homeland in the regional Premier Cricket League (PCL). This gesture has not gone down well in some quarters. The worry is that Chanderpaul playing for his country at this point in his career is not in the interest of Guyana’s or West Indies’ cricket as he will be occupying a spot that would have been best held by an up and coming player. The veteran batsman, after all, has already achieved more in the sport than many would dare dream of. The chances of him being recalled to the West Indies team are nonexistent, and so it is the time he lay down his blade and allow the younger batsmen to flourish.

And it’s not like Guyana is in dire need of his services either. Those opposed to his inclusion point to the fact that they were PCL champions last season and have already jumped out to a lead after two rounds in this season’s edition. They also have a fair number of players climbing up the ranks who could do with as many opportunities as possible.
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wat is the con argument: that he is taking a place away from a youth who may grow into a great batsman in replacement of the aging Shiv himself.
A valid argument on paper how does it work out in practice..how did it work out in real life for the west indies, for example since 1995?
well since 1995 what have we produced to replace Greenidge, Haynes, Dujon, Richardson, Viv?

I remember they dropped all these players on that very argument and when they did the bottom dropped out of west indies cricket because there were few replacement of note. I remember that by 2000 Lara alone was batting for the west indies against the Oz. we had tests like Ragoonath opening the innings, had gotten fed up with Campbell and Williams and went searching to come up with even worse options like Joseph from up the islands ..Antigua at #3

the west indian youth were not good enough then..they still are not good enough. in fact had we persisted with Haynes/Greenidge, Dujon etc we would have maintained our top position in the international game a few more years while some of the youth matured a bit and came in older and wiser..like the very Campbell and Williams, out of whom we have gotten more had they been in their middle twenties when they began

and what's the pro argument for Shive: how far can a player go in cricket at the top level? we don't know but isnt that a question worthy of an answer..an issue worth the most comprehensive exploration?

if Shive has decided to explore it who are we to deny him the chance when there are still no youth better than he is?

all who have replaced Shive cant hold his gear. there is in all likelihood, not a single batsman in the current top west Indian 7 who is better right now than Shive still is. so what the hell are they doing..singing a youth song when that song represents at least an half empty reality on the ground

we should have begun such an exploration of the limits of age in cricket with the legends Haynes, Greenidge and Dujon..and we should continue now with Shive.

questions in life are there to be examined directly to see all what humans are capable of. instead we get stuck with mantras sung by people who are in control, for their very own subjective purposes, the chief of which is the full, comprehensive exploitation of the finances of the west indian game in their own interest.

these put no limits on themselves in the that process. and it turns out that the youth mantras they have been singing since 1995 have been and are to keep out experienced and matured players, who, in the west indies team, would not tolerate the exploitation by the 'youth-songsters' in the front office, whose purpose is to unconscionably exploit the inexperienced youth in a young team who do not have the experience and standing to confront up to the wicbc/wicb/cWI over their treatment as players and pay scale

the question Shive is answering right now is as important as any other. if he is in form and performing up to international standards at his normally high level, he should be in all west indian teams he is qualified to represent, at 19 or 93.

Courtney Browne had Phil Simmons conned into dropping Shiv.
Disgraceful move in this Gentleman's Game.

but alas, CWI is an entity unto themselves.
No journalists howled back then : BUT now Shiv himself is EMBARASSING them
via glowing news from executives at Lancashire whom is mouthing all things
us fans have been debating with the naysayers for a coupla years !

Lets see the bandwagon of journos now target CWI Selectors.

TOO LATE, TOO LATE shall be the Cry ~

Ketchim, I'm not a journalist and I believe I wanted Chanderpaul to continue playing for WI, even for a few more games.

you are not a journalist Zacaroni? didn't ketchim say you were

interesting.

shive shud have played for the west indies in england a few months ago however..before Kyle Hope

zac, show us any journo article that called for Shiv inclusion
and argued against his dropping : in any publication including your blog !

Now that Lancashire is gushing about him and the British journalists are involved.
I betcha we will see caribbean journos and "blog contributors"
suddenly wake up and hop on the wagon ....lol

[quote="ketchim"!

Now that Lancashire is gushing about him and the British journalists are involved.
I betcha we will see caribbean journos and "blog contributors"
suddenly wake up and hop on the wagon ....lol [/quote]

as usual if the white man endorse...then the black man follow. in the meantime we have wasted 3 years shive cud have been contributing

correct is right !
black people still mentally enslaved.
Bobby Marley begged dem but alas !

These batsmen PROVING to Shiv that they have learned HIS art of crease occupation:

Hodge 72* (274) , Carty 61* (185)
combine 133 runs off 459 ball
133 runs after 76.3 overs OR 1.75 runs per overs

thanks Shiv for your Legacy of crease occupation and "staying there"

you have mih confuse ketchim..wat you actually mean...dat some africans who get enslaved and brainwashed and live in the west indies mentally enslave?

dat wud be accurate....some africans, not black people, if you consider that the whole human species are really black..and ultimately african too going backwards.

den again all people mentally enslaved in one way or another...so we have a problem with mental enslavement. we have to list them and so who is mentally with what type of mental enslavement...

and with all ah dat we still only now start. Pheeeeeeeeeeew. I need help. way captain wen you need him. he might be able to fix this with one word!