Shivnarine Chanderpaul battles in vain

Shivnarine Chanderpaul is probably the most horrendous looking batsman around. We mean in terms of his batting style, of course. We're not passing judgement on his looks. He looks fine. He's not really our type, but... Er, the batting anyway.

We're not actually sure if Shiv HAS a stance at the crease. At least not one that he uses repeatedly. He stands there and he's got a bat, but it's not what you'd call a 'stance'. As far as his technique goes, he tends to face the bowler and unfurl a visual catastophe of limbs when the ball arrives.

In Test cricket, opening batsmen tend to be the ones with the best techniques. In one-day cricket, they're either Test openers or big-hitters. We're not quite sure why Chanderpaul got his chance at the top of the West Indian one-day order, because he's neither of these things. Or at least he wasn't.

In Test cricket, Chanderpaul sort of spoons the ball around at weird angles and spends an age at the crease. He's good, in that he's effective, but he doesn't look good and he doesn't score quickly. For some reason he's been given this chance as one of the West Indies' one-day openers and punch our teeth out and steal our wallet, but he's really pretty damn good at it.

Maybe his effectiveness is why he got the chance. He's an effective yet hideous Test batsman and equally he's an effective yet hideous one-day opener. Suddenly he's smashing the ball to all parts and he and Chris Gayle are really something to be feared.

Today he hit 149 not out off 137 balls against India. West Indies lost, but you can't really blame Shiv, can you?

How to get Shivnarine Chanderpaul out

That's a joke, because of course it can't be done.

His latest masterpiece resulted in a West Indian win however. 116 not out leading West Indies to a winning total of 278 in the second one-day international. England managed just 217 in reply.

England may have won the vast majority of the matches during the West Indies' visit and the West Indies themselves may have occasionally plumbed some previously unseen depths, but if there's one image that sums up the past few weeks, it's the one below.



Shiv, you're the most wince-inducingly-horrendous-looking, undismissable, adamantium-willed KING we've ever seen.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul has taken permanent residence at the crease. He might as well get his sodding fanmail delivered there.

Dwayne Bravo should aim higher

By the standards of this West Indies side, Dwayne Bravo has had a decent series, but those standards aren't good enough.

Five times in seven innings he's been out between 40 and 60. At least one of those should have been a hundred. The stage was set yesterday when West Indies were trying to save the game and he was batting alongside Shivnarine Chanderpaul - a man who likes getting out as much as he likes being kicked in the balls.

For some reason, Dwayne Bravo started playing a load of shots after lunch England hadn't felt like they could remove either batsman before the break, but now they were given hope. That hope was justified and once Bravo had departed, the procession began. Bravo was as culpable as anyone for the West Indies' defeat. He was actually in a position to prevent it.

If someone else other than Shiv starts taking some responsibility, perhaps some of the other players might follow suit. Dwayne Bravo seems the most likely to lead the way.

Despite never quite making the most of his chances, Dwayne Bravo will have learnt a lot on this tour. He's only 23 and this was his second Test tour to this country. On this occasion he spent a long time batting with Chanderpaul throughout the series and we dare say he'll learn more from that than any coaching or theoretical exercise.

We're presuming that Shiv actually shares information at the crease. If he does, then Bravo will have benefited hugely. Shiv knows what the bowling side are trying to achieve at any one time and he knows how to foil them.

Shiv hasn't really had the opportunity to pass on any knowledge to the likes of Runako Morton who didn't stay at the crease long enough to acknowledge a 'hello'. If Chanderpaul retires without helping at least one player, then the West Indian batsmen will be totally cut off from a line of communication that supports every Test side.

England v West Indies, fourth Test, day five at Chester-le-Street
West Indies 287 (Shivnarine Chanderpaul 136 not out, Ryan Sidebottom 5-88)
England 400 (Paul Collingwood 128, Andrew Strauss 77, Matt Prior 62, Fidel Edwards 5-112)
West Indies 222 (Shivnarine Chanderpaul 70, Chris Gayle 52, Monty Panesar 5-46, Matthew Hoggard 3-28)
England 111-3

England win the series 3-0

Shivnarine Chanderpaul's hundred not enough for him

We've just got back from day five of the Old Trafford Test. We've never been to the Monday of a Test before. It's the missing link between county cricket crowds and Test match ones. It had the attendance of a Test match, but everyone was watching intently.

If you want to hear some guy shout to another three rows in front of him: "Graham: Show us your tats. Graham, Graham, show us your - oh... you're not Graham..." then attend a Test on a Saturday. If you want to hear a heartfelt standing ovation for a magnificent fourth innings hundred, go on a Monday. Both are good in their own ways.

That magnificent fourth innings hundred was of course that of Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Any batsman could learn a thing or two from Shiv. He's got one of the clearest batting minds in the game. He's forever weighing up the field, the pitch, the state of the game and how many balls he can let his partner face.

It was no mean feat to pass 100 on a pitch where consecutive deliveries from Monty Panesar bounced over the wicketkeeper's head and ran along the floor, despite pitching in roughly the same spot.

After the last wicket fell, we glanced at the big screen. In the background, Shiv was walking off the field shaking his head vigorously. It could have been about that final wicket, but more likely he was dissatisfied at having fallen short in what would have been a world record run-chase.

If you've watched much of the West Indies' last two tours to England, Shivnarine Chanderpaul will be a familiar sight. He now averages 68 in 10 Tests in this country.

England v West Indies, third Test, day three at Old Trafford
England 370 (Ian Bell 97, Alastair Cook 60)
West Indies 229 (Shivnarine Chanderpaul 50, Monty Panesar 4-50)
England 313 (Alastair Cook 106, Kevin Pietersen 68, Darren Sammy 7-66)
West Indies 394 (Shivnarine Chanderpaul 116 not out, Runako Morton 54, Monty Panesar 6-137, Steve Harmison 4-95)

England win the Test and hold an unassailable 2-0 lead with one Test to go.