Thursday, June 12, 2008

Peter Roebuck on Chanderpaul

Even Peter Roebuck struggles to describe Shivnarine Chanderpaul . Excerpt:
"Shivnarine Chanderpaul provides a notable counterpoint to the contemporary game. At once he is inimitable and timeless - no more a product of his period than a kitchen clock, and yet not a creature of the past either, for he has scored runs yesterday and today and will score runs tomorrow. Just that he goes about it in his own sweet and deceptively frail way, relying on deflections and glides, hands as opposed to forearms, a wand as opposed to a tree trunk, persuasion and perseverance as opposed to power. He is a rubber man put among concrete pillars. In short, he is a reminder that, even now, cricket has many faces and talent can take many.
......
Although lacking the force of personality needed to hold the team together, he has often prevented the batting from falling apart. Perhaps the bad times were his making. After all fishermen, like farmers, are a resilient lot. Certainly they do not expect more from life than it is prepared to offer."

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