President of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), Dave Cameron, paid tribute last week to Shivnarine Chanderpaul for becoming the first West Indies player to appear in 150 Tests. The 39-year-old Chanderpaul reached the milestone during the second Test against India which ended on Saturday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
“Shiv may be a quiet man, but he is the tower of strength in our batting,” said Cameron.
“He may be small in stature and we may call him “Tiger”, but he is lion-hearted and hardworking; qualities that our young players should emulate.
“He may not be as destructive as Chris Gayle or as flambuoyant as one of his other contemporaries Brian Lara, but Shiv is an icon in his own right and we want him to know that we value him.”
“On behalf of the West Indies Cricket Board and the people of the Caribbean, I want to pay tribute to Shivnarine Chanderpaul on reaching this landmark.”
Chanderpaul made his Test debut 19 years ago on home soil at Bourda Oval in the Guyana capital of Georgetown, becoming the 204th player to wear the maroon cap of the Windies.
“Tiger”, as he is affectionately known, is the seventh player in the history of the game to play 150 Tests.
The 2008 ICC World Player-of-the-Year has scored 10,963 runs at an average of 51.71 including 28 hundreds and 61 half-centuries.
Only fellow left-hander Brian Lara has scored more runs (11,953) for West Indies.
Chanderpaul also had the honour of leading West Indies in 14 Tests between 2005 and 2006.
The WICB arranged for Chanderpaul to be presented with a commemorative plaque by legendary former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd prior to the Test.
The West Indies team also hosted a celebratory dinner to hail Chanderpaul’s accomplishment and he was presented with a specially embroidered cap on the first morning of the Test.
