What cricket means to West Indians (part 14) …Chanderpaul quits as Skipper

May 29, 2016 Sports

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By Sean Devers

After another series defeat in New Zealand and the loss of form, Shiv Chanderpaul quit as West Indies skipper on April 11th 2006.
“I would like to take this opportunity to tender my resignation as captain with immediate

effect. This would give me an opportunity to focus on my batting and other areas of my cricket….where I would be able to make a more significant contribution to the team by being more focused on my batting.
I have served my time as the captain and would like to pass the mantle on to another person. I would fully support my replacement, and work towards the good of the team. I would like to thank all who worked with me during my tenure as captain and I am looking forward to continuing my hard work for West Indies cricket.” The 31-year-old Guyanese said in his resignation letter to the WICB.
Lara is back as captain …for 3rd time
The 2006 home series against India saw Lara; now 37, take over the captaincy for the third time in his illustrious career. Lara took over for the one-day series against the weak Zimbabwe side and the much tougher Indians and almost immediately the Caribbean team showed signs of rejuvenation.
They won all of the five ODIs against Zimbabwe and then beat India 4-1 in the one-day series; Lara’s leadership proved inspirational and the team looked united and committed to the cause of reviving West Indies cricket.
India had only beaten the West Indies once in a series in the Caribbean and that was 35 years before. Without an injured Sachin Tendulkar and the West Indies showing renewed spirit, their fans were very optimistic as they hunted their first series win since beating Bangladesh in 2004.
Lara was now in the twilight of his career and seemed fully matured and determined to be remembered as not only a sublime batsman who will rank among the greats of all time, but more importantly a great leader who helped West Indies cricket move forward.
He seemed no longer preoccupied with individual batting records and genuinely wanted to help the younger players in the team and see West Indies improve. Lara said prior to the start of the test series that he was not interested in records on a ground where he had twice scored world record scores of 375 and 400 adding that the team wanted to see more wins instead of more records.
The fielding in the one-day series was brilliant and the body language of the players on and off the field was superb. So good was Lara’s captaincy that even two of his most vocal critics (Viv Richards and Richie Richardson) stated publicly that Lara was doing a wonderful job.
Expectations were high as the four-test series got under way in Antigua and a very good first day in which Lara held three catches to become the first West Indian to hold 150 test catches, confirmed that although there was still a long way to go, the home team was steadily improving in all departments of the game.
A brilliant second innings double century by Wasim Jaffer ‘took the game way’ from the West Indies as the pitch improved as the match progressed; leaving West Indies to get 392 to win from eight overs and the entire the final day.
The match went down to the wire after Lara fell for duck and Sarwan failed to reach double figures. West Indies drew the match in mounting pressure as Collymore survived the last of the mandatory overs with the last pair (actually three) at the wicket. Edwards, who survived 37 balls for his important unbeaten one, had Ganga with him as his runner.
Only rain which washed out the entire fourth day and a brilliant 32nd test century from Lara in the second innings saved the West Indies from an innings defeat in the second test in St Lucia. Lara publicly called for faster pitches and another genuine fast bowler in either Jermaine Lawson or Tino Best for the historic third test, the first to be hosted in St Kitts.
The selectors instead picked spinner Dave Mohamed and Chairman, Joey Carew explained that his panel was afraid that Lawson would be ‘called for throwing’ if he was selected. The start of the St. Kitts test was put in jeopardy just days before its scheduled commencement when WIPA issued a press statement claiming that the players were playing without contracts and would take industrial action if the issue was not addressed by the WICB before the start of the third test.
WICB President Trinidadian Ken Gordon was at the time in Germany watching Trinidad and Tobago play in the FIFA World Cup. The matter was subsequently resolved and the impressive Warner Park Stadium had its debut test.
Centuries from Ganga and Sarwan and an unbeaten 97 from Chanderpaul were the highlights of another drawn test but skipper Lara said after the game he believed his team had shown signs of improvement.
“We might not have performed at a 100 percent as we would have liked to but I am definitely seeing an improvement in the performances. The fact of the matter is we are still in a series against India who is highly ranked than us, with one test to go”. Lara added.
The West Indies lost the final test in Jamaica and India had won their first series in the Caribbean since 1971. West Indies continued to play well in the one-day version of the game and reached the final of the Tri-nation series in Malaysia; losing to Australia. They again reached the final of the ICC Champions Trophy in India; again losing to world champions Australia in the final.
Playing their first test series in Pakistan since their 3-nil drubbing in the three-test series in 1997, West Indies lost the first test despite a brilliant second innings century from Lara who scored his 34th test ton in the second test when he made a double century to help earn a draw for his team.
Chanderpaul’s 100th test appearance in the 2nd test was overshadowed by the dropping of Vice-Captain Sarwan sparking speculation that there was a rift between the skipper and his deputy which transcended beyond the boundary.
Mohamed Yusuff mauled the West Indies bowlers throughout the series to continue his magnificent form in 2006. Just missing double centuries in the first two tests, the ‘bearded assassin’ scored his third ton of the series in the first innings of the third test and overhauled the 47 required in the second innings to break Richard’s 30-year-old record for most runs (1,710 runs from 11 matches) in a calendar year.
Yusuff, who broke the record in his 11th test of the year, celebrated with a second innings hundred and the West Indies soon slipped to a 2-0 defeat in the series by losing the final test.
A genius quits after 17 years; Lara’s retires after CWC2007
The unexpected retirement from Test cricket by Lara during West Indies’ penultimate match in the 2007 Cricket World Cup in Barbados sparked wild speculation and his farewell International match against England was watched by a capacity ground at the Kensington Oval.
His controversial run out; batting with Marlon Samuels, was a sad way to end an illustrious International career which lasted 17 years and entertained million of fans. Reportedly not recommended as captain by the selectors for the 2007 tour to England, Lara, who announced that he was retiring from ODIs after the CWC, called it a day during West Indies’ CWC game against Bangladesh after saying only a few weeks earlier that he wanted to continue at the Test level until he was 40.
Lara’s Test career began in Pakistan in 1990 and lasted for 17 years. During an interview at Lords during the 2007 tour to England by the West Indies, Lara, in London to open a cricket museum honoring him, lamented that the lack of support he got from the WICB and insularity among the West Indian fans, affected his role as West Indies captain.

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