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days to go for MASHRAMANI 2010
ISSUE 33
June / July 2009
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COVER STORY
Cricketer Shivnarine Chanderpaul
At the Top of His Game
Guyana and West Indies star batsman Shivnarine
Chanderpaul recently has been breaking
recordings and making lots of history locallyregionally and internationally.
After arriving in Guyana on March 16 for
the two One Day International (ODI) games
against England, officials and fans showered
Chanderpaul with gifts, awards and dedications. It began with
a motorcade in his honour from Cheddi Jagan International
Airport to Georgetown.
Later that evening,a special ceremony was held by the
President Bharrat Jagdeo to bestow upon Chanderpaul
highest national award of the country, the Cacique Crown of
Honour (C.C.H).
That same week, Shiv received his record fifth Sportsmanof-
the-Year award, when the National Sports Commission
held their annual ceremony.
Internationally, he was named the ICC cricketer of the year
for 2008 in the Test rankings, Georgetown Mayor Hamilton
Green and the City Council officially renamed a section of
New Garden Street between Church Street and South Road,
the Shiv Chanderpaul Drive.
At age 35 and seventeen years of dedication to the game
of cricket, “Tiger” as he is affectionately called by cricket fans
is at the top of his game.
Despite his hectic schedule and growing list of accolades,
Shiv found the time to talk with GEM about the joy of winning,
the pain of losing, family, politics, and life after cricket.
GEM: You continue to make history not only in cricket, but in
sports also. Have you fully digested what you are doing?
SC: Not really! It’s like a dream. I have worked very hard to
be where I am in cricket. I never in my wildest imagination
thought about being able to go this far. With the help of God and my dedication to my job I have been able to ride the waves
of success. I am extremely humbled and very appreciative of
what has been happening in my career.
GEM: What does it feel like to score a century on your home
turf?
SC: You always want to perform well, but more so in front
of your home crowd. They have always supported me, and it
was very good for me to be able to reciprocate. It was a great
feeling.
GEM: We’ve seen Clive Lloyd play. We’ve seen Sir Vivian
Richards play. We’ve seen Brian Lara play. But the greatest
single performance in a game we ever saw was yours during
the first of the two ODIs at the stadium on March 20, 2009
against England. You scored 42 runs off 36 balls with 26
(one six and five fours) coming off Steve Harminson in his
seventh over. Is that one of your best overs you’ve ever
played, even though you ended up losing?
SC: I don’t know if it was the greatest performance. For you
to align me with the other players is truly a wonderful gesture.
That over does stand out as one of the tops in my career so
far. You don’t like to lose, but you also have to learn to be a
good loser. We lost and we just have to move on. We were able
to return the favour in the following game.
GEM: What were your views on the miscalculation by Coach
John Dyson that cost you all that game?
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