It is not in Shivnarine Chanderpaul's nature to give things away. At least in the business of cricket.
Forty-nine times in 280 innings, he left the crease with his wicket still in tact. No top player in the history of the game has been unbeaten so many times. The closest to him is South African Jacques Kallis with 40 not outs. It was as if the 22 yards of turf was Shiv's home, his favourite place in the whole world. It didn't matter in what country, what island, what city those 22 yards happened to be found.
When Shiv got to the middle and extracted one of the bails from its groove in a stump, stooped down and hammered an indentation in the ground to mark his guard, it was like him laying down a foundation; he was setting up house.
I have lost count of the number of debates in various media centres that I have been privy to, when West Indies have been down to nine, ten, Jack and Chanderpaul, and people have raged over his refusal to protect the tail.
Over the years, the faces changed, the abilities of the batsmen varied, but Shiv stuck to his measured script, taking his time. At the end, he was the last man standing, still at "home" win lose or draw. Often it was 'lose.'
That mindset, that appreciation for his wicket was something several of his West Indies teammates over the years needed to emulate, but sadly didn't.
The Windies might have saved or even won a few more Tests had they followed Shiv's lead.
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