Shiv should join Headley & Weeks on Nov 30 as West Indian Dads whose son has played Test cricket

Nov 11, 2022 Sports

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By Sean Devers

Kaieteur News – At 26, with five centuries and 10 fifties to his name from 50 First-Class matches Tagenarine ‘Brandon’ Chanderpaul has been selected for the 2-Test series in Australia which begins on November 30 at Perth.

Tagenarine, who made his First-Class debut against the Leewards in Antigua in 2013, has four of tons this year; three for Guyana and the other in his last First-Class innings against Bangladesh ‘A’ in St Lucia.

Playing for West Indies ‘A’ in August, the left-hander from Unity on the East Coast of Demerara batted for 404 minutes, faced 337 balls before retiring hurt for 109.

Many felt he had done enough for Guyana to be picked for the Test team for Bangladesh’s tour to start his career on home soil. But was instead selected for the ‘A’ team series.

Young Chanderpaul, like his illustrious dad, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, bats left-handed and played at the U-19 level for West Indies and is on the threshold of joining his dad as the 19^th father/son pair to play Test cricket and only the third by a West Indian.

Shiv, on Monday night joined Guyanese Sir Clive Lloyd, Lance Gibbs and Rohan Kanhai in ICC Hall of Fame.

Playing for Guyana in a First-Class game against Jamaica in 2017, the 42-year-old Shiv scored a half-century after his 20-year-old son Tagenarine had reached 50 at Sabina Park. The last time that happened was in 1931 when George Gunn and his son George Vernon scored hundreds in a match for Nottinghamshire.

The only other time a father and his son played together in the history of Regional First-Class cricket, which began in 1865, was when Sir Leary Constantine and his Father Lebron, played in 1922.

The elder Constantine made his final appearance for Trinidad against Barbados in British Guiana at the age of 48 playing alongside his son Learie who had just turned 21.

Shiv should join West Indian fathers George Headley and Sir Everton Weeks with sons who played Test Cricket.

All three of the dads are among the eight West Indian batters with a Test average of over 50 with the late great Headley at top of that list with an average 60.83 with 10 centuries in 22 Tests.

Weeks is second on the list with 56.61, while Shiv, who has played the most Tests by any West Indies (164) and has 30 centuries 66 fifties, is seventh with an average of 51.37.

Shiv’s 11,867 runs in only behind Brian Lara’s 11,912 among West Indian batters and it’s unlikely that those stats will be bettered by any other West Indian.

Shiv has several records; he batted 1,000 minutes without being dismissed…four times, his 49 not outs is the most by any specialist batter, his 17 unbeaten centuries is one more than Sachin Tendulkar’s 16, He is only the second player to score a double (203*) on his Captaincy debut against South Africa at Bourda since New Zealand’s Graham Dowlin made 239 against India in 1968. He has scored 20,645 International runs (Test & ODI) with 41 centuries, including two doubles.

At the regional level he scored the only triple century (303*) against Jamaica at Sabina Park in 1996 since Regional cricket was first Sponsored in 1966.

Let’s now look at the achievements of the two others and how their son’s feared at highest level.

The Second World War and West Indies’ lack of matches during his career restricted Headley to just 22 Test matches but he proved to be one of the finest batters ever to have graced the game.

The Panama-born right-hander scored 10 Test centuries, including an unbeaten 270 against England in 1935 and his average of 60.83 is only bettered by Don Bradman, Adam Voges and Graeme Pollock among players to have completed their careers.

George’s son Ron, a left-handed opening batter, had a successful first-class career, helping Worcestershire win the English County Championship in 1964 and 1965 before making his Test debut in the twilight of his career, playing two matches against England in 1973.

Ron’s son Dean, a right-arm fast bowler, also played at the highest level, featuring in 15 Tests and 13 ODIs for England between 1996 – 1999 before injury curtailed his career. The Headleys made the record books by virtue of being the only family to have had three generations play Test cricket.

Weekes, (a part of the 3Ws; Sir Clyde Walcott and Sir Frank Worrell) was a leading light in the formidable West Indies side of the 1940s and 50s.

He rose to stardom after making five consecutive Test centuries in innings in 1948 – a feat which hasn’t been repeated – and will be remembered as one of the finest batsmen the Caribbean has ever produced.

His son David Murray, a Wicket-Keeper, also represented the West Indies, playing 19 Tests and 10 ODIs between 1973 and 1982. The personal highlight of Murray’s career came during the 1978/79 tour of India when he scored 66 opening the batting in Kolkata (then Calcutta) to help West Indies to a draw.

He would have played more were it not for personal issues and the presence of his namesake Deryck Murray, who was regarded as the world’s Premier Keeper of his time.

Murray’s son Ricky Hoyte played First-Class cricket for Barbados.

Tage has big shoes to fill as he embarks on his journey in Test cricket. Can he do that? Only time will tell.

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