WI vs South Africa: Nash & Chanderpaul seem like the perfect batting couple!

It was heartening to see that somebody from the WI camp finally decided to bat with some semblance of spirit. As a result, the hosts are now in a position to easily draw the game unless they do something drastically stupid. Once again, the rescue act has been perpetrated by Chanderpaul. He is someone I have often written about on this blog. He appeals to my senses with his ability to succeed despite not having the natural flair that most left-handed batsmen possess or the arrogance that is trademark of the Calypso batsmen. Now, it seems that he has found an able supporter in the form of Nash. This guy is your typical grafter. He doesn't have a stroke of brilliance and if your looking for someone to make TV viewing pleasurable with off-side drives and straight pushes, Nash is not the guy one would like to recommend. He is very much like Chanderpaul, wait-out the bowler's patience and then seize upon the opportunity to score-off the slightly wayward deliveries. Until then, it is all about composure and nudging and pushing for the singles. Anyways, it is widely believed that a player's overall effectivity determines his worth in his team and not his style of performing...I hope, the likes of Sarwan and Yuvraj are listening.

Chanderpaul: Contemporary Cricket’s Most Underestimated Batsman?

If you look at the career statistics of Shivnaraine Chanderpaul, it will suggest that he is among the best of batsmen who are current playing and that is across all forms of the game, i.e. the ODIs and test cricket. This might cause some of you to raise the argument that he hasn’t excelled in T20. However, it should be understood that this isn't because of his inability to adapt to the faster version of the game but simply due to lack of opportunities. For some reason, despite being the perennial saver for his team and an awesome ODI record, this guy is never counted among the current crop of batsmen who are often heralded as ‘greats’.I presume that this is due to two main factors. One, he is simply too raw in terms of handing the media part of one’s career that has become a necessity for the modern player. Even the newest of entrants in the Caribbean team can be seen making some form of a style statement by either covering themselves in oodles of gold or with some ritual-like dance after dismissing an opposition batsman. Some folks might say that this is a part of the Caribbean heritage but I would like to opine that these are simply practices stereotypes that are being done to make a splash in the media coverage of the game, ensuring that their overall marketability is sustained for money-making tournaments like the IPL or for county stints.
This is even more applicable to a West Indian player, considering that they lose so many matches that even centurions and five-wicket hauls are mentioned in a remote corner of the newspaper column. Secondly, Chanderpaul has a strange, un-classical batting stance which might be the reason that he is continuously omitted from the bracket containing stars like Sachin and Ponting. Some people might argue that the modern era of cricket is very accommodating in terms of accepting people with unconventional batting styles but I personally feel that the stance used by Chanderpaul is simply so hideous that it drives-out any form of serious praise that might be coming his way.

Not the right time to be mouthing-off, Gayle

As if the absence of the three main batsmen in the team, Sarwan, Chanderpaul and Bravo wasn’t sufficient, the west Indian captain, Chris Gayle went on to make a strange prediction before the start of the Australia – WI, ODI series that his team would win it 4-1. Has that helped the team in any conceivable way? Really not. Just look at the result of the first two matches and it is clear that once again, the men from Calypso were simply outplayed. So the question I would like to ask Gayle is that what he was trying to do, making such outrageous comments? His team certainly doesn’t have the track-record of winning series and the absence of such critical players was bound to take its toll. It is fine being a bit brave, or even cocky if you are playing the Aussies, but 4-1, against the Aussies in Australia, really?