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[b]John Updike, the great American novelist and poet, wrote, in his highly acclaimed tribute to baseball hitting legend Ted Williams, that retirement “was a little death that awaits all athletes.” Well, it appears that West Indies batting great Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 43, an age at which most of those who bat for a living have long hung up their helmets, has no intention of dying that little death anytime soon.

To be fair to the left-hander, it’s not as if he has one foot in the grave, or that he has given anyone the impression that he’s on his last legs. The runs are still gushing, and he is as steady and as solid and as difficult to dislodge as ever.

He struck three hundreds this last county season for Lancashire and was seventh in the division-one batting averages with a very commendable 51.93. Unlike Kumar Sangakarra, however, who at 40 decided to retire after scoring eight hundreds and averaging over 106 for Surrey, Chanderpaul has signed on to return to Lancashire for the 2018 season.

Now that he is back home in the Caribbean, the great batsman, always up for a game of cricket, has decided to make himself available to represent his homeland in the regional Premier Cricket League (PCL). This gesture has not gone down well in some quarters. The worry is that Chanderpaul playing for his country at this point in his career is not in the interest of Guyana’s or West Indies’ cricket as he will be occupying a spot that would have been best held by an up and coming player. The veteran batsman, after all, has already achieved more in the sport than many would dare dream of. The chances of him being recalled to the West Indies team are nonexistent, and so it is the time he lay down his blade and allow the younger batsmen to flourish.

And it’s not like Guyana is in dire need of his services either. Those opposed to his inclusion point to the fact that they were PCL champions last season and have already jumped out to a lead after two rounds in this season’s edition. They also have a fair number of players climbing up the ranks who could do with as many opportunities as possible.[/b]

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MAAD DEM SHIVA!

He needs to call it a day and retire..His services could be better served elsewhere.

In reply to buds

Think it's still a big positive having him in the team.

Strange how we love to tell others how to live their lives...the man is doing what he loves, and he is damn good at it. Why should he stop?

What if we say some of you should retire from sex, food, etc...'cause we have someone younger who can do it better than you????

Go Shiv!!! Mad them rass.

Yeah allyuh talk nah!

In reply to runout

... however, in this case, them caan do it better.

In reply to natty_forever

Can fool some of the people some of the time...can't fool all the people all the time.

Yeah, Allyuh talk nah!

In reply to runout... I for one feel having experienced players out in the middle is the best thing for the youngsters.

Shiv you is a honorary Yaadie, come play for us.

Tage better don't let the old man show him up!!!

Rass, then he should retire and let the old man play.

In reply to spider

As a coach to the youngsters..Another bright prospect is missing valuable time with Shiv still playing

In reply to runout

West Indians are by nature bad minded and hate to see others succeed. We have a problem honouring our own. We should be proud of Shiv. He is still the best and better than any other West Indian playing cricket today. There is no batsman in the current Guyana Team who can bat or contribute more than Shiv. If Guyana had all these great players available, he would not have been there.
I am 61 and working in my chosen field and I am good at what I do. No one is screaming for me to retire.

In reply to bobby
You are on point bro...not sure why they have this thing with Shiv....even when he was playing test cricket. He was scoring too slow. He wasn't farming the strike. He was too selfish. He was battng for not-outs etc.

Now he is taking over some phantom future-WI-great spot on the Guyana team.

I really cannot understand the issue with Shiv playing. Small minds never can see the big picture!

In reply to natty_forever

Bro, the people in Lancashire hails the man''s presence in their clubhouse/team. They are happy to have him in the mix. He is mentoring the young ones who CAN make the team.

I wonder which future-English-great is sitting down for Shiv to play, and get paid?



Yeah, allyuuh talk nah!

In reply to runout

Men doan retire from sex voluntarily.Usually sex dus retire from dem!!!!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

In reply to Dukes

In reply to Dukes

In reply to Dukes