ROSEAU-Veteran West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul who played in a record breaking 133rd test match last week says he's not ready to leave the game yet and still has a lot more to give. "I'm extremely pleased to reach this milestone. I believe it is a really big occasion. Whatever knowledge and experience I have gained I would like to pass it on and help the other members of the team with their game. There is still more to come."
In the game which made him the most capped West Indian, Chanderpaul found himself having to bat his team out of trouble and delivered a match saving unbeaten 116 to earn his team a draw at Windsor Park, which was hosting its first test. Chanderpaul rates the innings among his "best because of the situation" and it earned him the Man-of-the-Match award. His statistics now read: 9,367 runs at an average of 49.04 per innings with 23 centuries and 55 half-centuries.
"I would say this was one my best because of the situation when I went in to bat and the way the game was going. To be batting on a fifth day pitch and the way the ball was bouncing and turning-some would grip and bounce and you weren't always sure which way the ball would go. You had to be very patient and very watchful and careful."
Chanderpaul was high in praise for debutant Kirk Edwards who marked the occasion with a century of his own. "Kirk on the debut? Oh man, he batted brilliantly! He took the challenge to Harbhajan and that helped us a lot. He was not afraid to take the attack to the bowlers. "He was positive and had the right mindset. He was not afraid. He played it his way and did what he knows and what he does best. It was a great effort for someone to come in under so much pressure and play the way he did.
I had a discussion with Kirk and we were talking about the 20s and the 30s (which Chanderpaul was scoring previously in the series). He told me to put that behind and we worked towards the team goals which was building big partnerships and pulling the team out of the trouble we were in." Half-way through the innings it was announced that the Government of Dominica had awarded Chanderpaul citizenship of the island nation in recognition of his contribution to the game of cricket and reaching the milestone of 133 Test matches-the most by a West Indian.
The record is one of the high points of his career. His purple patch was three years ago when he was named the International Cricket Council's Cricketer of the Year and won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy. He was also named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2008. "I want to thank the people of Dominica. It was a privilege and an honour to be named a citizen of the country and I happily accepted it. The crowd was very good to us over the five days of the Test match and even last year when we played the One-Day games against South Africa."