By Prior Beharry
THE recently completed tour of the West Indies in Zimbabwe saw a number of records eclipsed.
Tagenarine Chanderpaul, 26, scored his maiden Test century and turned it into a double century – tenth West Indies player to so do. His 207 not out off 467 balls in the first test meant that he accomplished a similar feat to his father Shivnarine Chanderpaul who had posted an unbeaten 203 against South Africa in Georgetown in his native Guyana in 2005. The elder Chanderpaul repeated that score against Bangladesh in Mirpur in 2012/2013.
They are only the second father-and-son to cross 200 runs in an innings in Test cricket.
The Pakistan pair of Hanif Mohammed and his son Shoaib Mohammed also did the same. The senior Mohammed scored his highest Test score of 337 against the West Indies in Bridgetown in 1958, coincidentally the tour when Gary Sobers became the highest runs scored in a Test match – 365 not out, passing Englans’s Len Hutton’s 364 against Australia in 1938.
Mohammed scored an unbeaten 203 against New Zealand at Lahore in 1965 while his son, in almost similar fashion to the elder Chanderpaul, has two scores of 203 not out against India in Lahore in 1989 and New Zealand in Karachi in 1990.
Kraigg Brathwaite and the younger Chanderpaul, in the first Test versus Zimbabwe, became the opening pair with the highest partnership for the West Indies. Their 336 eclipsed Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes’ 298 against England in St John’s Antigua in 1990.
Greenidge and Haynes are also third with 296 against India also at St John’s in 1983 with Sherwin Campbell and Adrian Griffith fourth with 276 against New Zealand in Hamilton in 1999.
For the record, the highest first-wicket stand is held by South Africa’s Neil McKenzie and Graeme Smith against Bangladesh in Chattogram in 2008.
Still in the first Test, Braithwaite and Chanderpaul became the first opening duo since Sri Lanka Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya against Pakistan 23 years ago, to bat more than 100 overs.
And in the second Test at the same venue, left-arm orthodox spinner Gudakesh Motie, 27, ended with match figures of 13 for 99 which are the best for a West Indies spinner.
He overtook Sonny Ramadhin’s 11 for 152 against England way back in 1950.
In the first Test Chanderpaul was the Man of the Match with Motie given the accolade in the second Test. The spinner was also the Player of the Series.
