'I Think I Love Batting More Now'

Shivnarine Chanderpaul almost seamlessly reaches the 100 landmark in Test cricket on Sunday November 19th in Multan when the West Indies take on Pakistan. Multan's current smoggy conditions and low key atmosphere is not a place that inspires celebration.

Some will argue that neither does Chanderpaul but that would be to selectively misjudge a man who is as versatile as a Swiss Army knife that can fetch the morning newspapers.

Chanderpaul's renowned grafting and patience at the wicket is a demonstration of his passionate love for batting. It is not an endeavour that he gravitated to when the bright lights first shone on him in 1994 but one he fell in love with when he was only a kid. He credits that love as one of the fundamental pillars for his endurance in the game. It is probably what has also restrained him from playing less cautiously over the years. The wise and the weary now know that he has accumulated enough innings of sheer brutality, without warning or notice, to cause the caution to be on the bowler?s behalf rather than his.

Chanderpaul started his international career against England on his home ground, Bourda in Georgetown, Guyana and after 12 years in the West Indies team has 6,617 test runs, 14 Test hundreds, 39 fifties and an average in the mid forties. The boy from the fishing village on the Atlantic coastline grew up, faced the best across the oceans, weathered their storms and emerged as one of the best. On the eve of his 100th test match, as he lay on his bed in his Multan hotel room and pounds a ball into the sweet spot of a new bat to make it accustomed to a task he will make it do several times more out in the middle he talked about the achievement, the memorable moments, the years in the game and what he has learnt.

On how he feels about the achievement:

It's obviously a great achievement, to actually make it to a hundred Tests knowing how my career has been with a lot of injuries and a lot of ups and downs it is very satisfying. I feel happy to make it there yet the game tomorrow is still a Test match and you have to go out there and play so your mind has to be focused on going out there and playing another game.

You can't worry about what number it is, you have to go out and play the game and play hard like always. One hundred test matches was a goal I had set myself in life when I started to play test cricket so I am obviously happy to have made it. Hopefully I can carry on and meet the other goals which I won't discuss now.

On the memorable moments:

Playing my first Test match of course. I was called up to the squad and never thought I was going to play the game so when I heard my name in the final eleven to play that morning I was overjoyed and I told myself that this was an opportunity to make a name for myself.

Brian (Lara) went on to break the world record in that same series and I was a part of that, I was with him there so that was another one of my big moments.

My first Test hundred in Barbados was also memorable. It was a working wicket, you had to work hard to get runs because it was a green top and getting my first hundred with Brian captaining his first Test match which we won was also special.

Also scoring a hundred at Lords and then 97 not out in the second innings (in 2004) is a game I remember with a smile. The double hundred against South Africa in front my home crowd at Bourda was also enjoyable. One that I really enjoyed as a young fella coming up was the 303 against Jamaica at Sabina Park. We were in a rough position with a few top order wickets gone when I came in to bat and I started stroking the ball nicely from the beginning. I was also playing against some quality bowlers including Courtney Walsh and I ended up scoring 180 before the close of play that day and at about tea time the next day I finished off on 303.

On the disappointments:

Not being able to stay fit enough to play throughout the years. If I could have done without those injuries and play on more that would have been good. To go out of the game with an injury and then come back and restart is not easy.

On his favorite ground:

Bourda! Not only because of the international cricket but because I grew up playing cricket there. I scored my first Under-16 hundred at Bourda and it went on after that. I scored a lot of runs there as a youth player including my first Under-19 hundred against Trinidad and Tobago in the Northern Telecom tournament. I also made my first class debut there, playing against the Leeward islands and I made 91 on a dangerous wicket in the second innings.

On the two most difficult bowlers he has had to contend with:

Wasim Akram because of his ability to swing the cricket ball and also to seam off the wicket. And Shane Warne because he turns the ball a long way and he is one of those guys who will work you out.

On whether being more experienced makes it is easier to bat:

When you're young it is easier to come out and bat freely with nothing on your mind. Now you know more about the game you feel more mature, you feel a little more confident in doing things, you understand more about everything that comes with the game. These are the things that makes you a better player through the good and bad times.

On the innings he enjoyed watching:

Brian (Lara) making 179 against England at the Oval was a joy to watch. I enjoyed watching the 375 and all his other great innings but being there watching as a young fella how he was scoring that 179 was a joy. The way he stroked the ball, the shots he played in the innings was inspiring for me. Another batter I like to look at also is VVS Laxman because he seems to have so much time to stroke the ball. His wrist movements, his placement, the way he works the ball off his legs and into the gaps, it's inspiring for any batter.

On what the game has taught him:

In cricket and in life you have to be disciplined. It takes a lot of determination and perseverance to actually get where you want to be, you cannot give up, you have to keep trying keep working hard. You have to keep fighting for what you want because nobody is going to get it for you. Even when you make mistakes you cannot sit back and relax, you have to get out there and work on it and avoid making the mistakes again. Nothing is wrong with mistakes, it's good to make one or two mistakes, you learn from them and you get better.

On his passionate and obvious love for batting:

As a kid I always liked batting, it is something I liked and that helped me through my career, liking batting and wanting to bat all the time.

On whether he still loves batting as much:

"You really ask that question?" (Laughs) I think I love batting more now.

* Imran Khan is the media officer of the West Indies cricket team.