Quantcast

Chanderpaul axed for Australia Tests

Veteran batsman dropped from the Test side just short of Brian Lara's runs record

Veteran batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been left out of the West Indies training squad ahead of the two-Test series against Australia.

Chanderpaul's non-selection was confirmed on Sunday afternoon (Monday morning AEST), with head selector Clive Lloyd communicating the decision directly to Chanderpaul both verbally and in writing.

"This was a tough decision for the Selection Panel to make," Lloyd said.

"We recognise the significant contribution Chanderpaul has made to the West Indies teams over the last two decades, but we want to take this opportunity to introduce a number of young, promising players into the squad."

Chanderpaul has been a mainstay of the West Indies middle order for 21 years, and his absence from this series comes with him just 86 runs short of Brian Lara's all-time West Indian run scoring record.

The 40-year-old has built an imposing resume since his debut against England in 1994, compiling 11,867 runs at 51 with 30 centuries.

But his prolific run-scoring has tailed off in his past two series against South Africa and England, scoring 183 runs from 11 innings with one half-century.

He currently holds the No.12 position in the ICC Test batting rankings, well ahead of the next highest-ranked Windies batsman, Darren Bravo in 28th.

The identity of the man who will replace Chanderpaul in the middle order remains to be seen, with the training squad featuring five frontline batsmen along with wicketkeeper-batsman Denesh Ramdin and bowling allrounder Jason Holder.

Leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo and left-arm orthodox bowler Veerasammy Permaul have both been named along with a pace attack that includes Holder, Kemar Roach, Jerome Taylor and Shannon Gabriel.

The 12 selected will hold a training camp in Barbados until May 29 before the first Test against Australia in Dominica starting on June 3.

The full Windies squad for the first Test will be finalised on Friday, the final day of Australia's warm-up match against a West Indies President's XI here in Antigua.

The President's XI will be captained by middle-order batsman Leon Johnson, who played the most recent of his four Tests in January.

Five of the top 10 run-scorers from the recent Caribbean domestic first-class competition – Tyrone Theophile, Shane Dowrich, Jason Mohammed, Roston Chase and Rajindra Chandrika – have also been included in the President's XI squad.

Last week, West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Dave Cameron said he was determined to pay a fitting tribute Chanderpaul when the time comes for him to retire.

Speaking before Chanderpaul's non-selection, Cameron said he had been disappointed in the past with how the Windies had handled the retirement of senior players who have given years of service to Caribbean cricket.

"I have never really liked how we have ushered out our players, so as president I am always trying to figure out how to honour them," Cameron told CMC.

"We're doing it now on a continuous basis, year by year, for their performances, but at the end of a long and illustrious career like Shivnarine Chanderpaul's we want to ensure that whatever we do, it is well respected and that he knows and the region knows how much we value his services to West Indies cricket."

WICB vice-president Emmanuel Nanthan echoed his president's sentiments.

"We agree that in the West Indies we have had problems and issues in terms of dealing with players when they retire. We have fallen very short in that aspect," Nanthan told Barbados Today.

"We have been short and we have been deficient in that area. It’s something we have been discussing and something we are looking forward to improving very much so because we believe the players are the essence of our cricket.

"We are hoping as a Board and as collective Caribbean people, we can respect and appreciate the service of those who have served us as a region ... because the better we can do that, the more a player can contribute to the upliftment and development of the game after his or her time on the field has come to an end."

Chanderpaul is yet to make an announcement on his playing future.

West Indies training squad: Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Veerasammy Permaul, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor

WICB President's XI (13-man squad): Leon Johnson (c), Carlos Brathwaite (vc), Sharmarh Brooks, Rajindra Chandrika, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Jason Dawes, Shane Dowrich, Imran Khan, Marquino Mindley, Jason Mohammed, Tyrone Theophile, Jomel Warrican